


How to Train Your Dragon... With the God of Mischief

by GuardianDragon98



Series: How to Train Your Dragon... with the God of Mischief [2]
Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Dragon Whisperer! Loki, Gobber tries his best, Gothi is cryptic, HTTYD with Loki in It, Hiccup is a lovable nerd, Learning how to ride a dragon is a good way to conquer acrophobia...maybe, Loki Gains Friends, Loki Learns How to Be Human, Loki becomes a Dragon Trainer/Dragon Rider, Loki cries at the latter parts of the story, Loki has acrophobia and needs to learn how to overcome it, Loki has no magic...or does he?, Stoick's less-than-perfect parenting skills, Zenna (OC) is trying her best, mortal! loki, redeemed loki
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-20
Updated: 2020-08-02
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:13:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 25
Words: 94,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25396720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GuardianDragon98/pseuds/GuardianDragon98
Summary: Just when Loki's begun adjusting to his new life as Erland, the Norns decide to make his life more interesting. A Night Fury is shot down and it's not alone, Hiccup and Zenna, Berk's resident outcasts, defy 300 years of tradition, and a chance encounter with a sick dragon nurtures Loki's soft side.Could all this be an opportunity for the God of Mischief to find redemption?Sequel to "The Inventor, the Healer, and the Fallen Prince."
Series: How to Train Your Dragon... with the God of Mischief [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1815409
Comments: 4
Kudos: 49





	1. This is Berk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> GuardianDragon98 back with Part 2! Hope you guys are ready because we're diving into the official movie territory here. Most of the dialogue is taken directly from the first film but, of course, I added a few things. Enjoy! Don't forget to leave a comment.

**Chapter 1: This Is Berk**

_This… is Berk. It’s twelve days north of Hopeless, and a few degrees south of Freezing to Death. It’s located solidly on the Meridian of Misery._

_My village. In a word, sturdy. And it’s been here for seven generations but every single building is new. We have fishing, hunting, and a charming view of the sunsets._

_The only problems are the pests._

_You see, most places have mice or mosquitoes. We have…_

A scrawny 15-year old brunet quickly slammed his house’s door shut as a Monstrous Nightmare shot a tremendous jet of flame at it. “… _dragons_ ,” he breathed out. Once he no longer felt that the door was being seared, he headed out into the smoky pre-dawn chill of Berk.

Good thing the dragons were there to warm things up.

_Most people would leave. Not us. We’re Vikings. We have… stubbornness issues._

All around the boy were Vikings battling dragons. Houses were being torched, nets were thrown at the dragons that were trying to steal food, and Vikings were yelling out war cries.

Typical morning on Berk.

_My name’s Hiccup. Great name, I know. But, it’s not the worst. Parents believe a hideous name will frighten off gnomes and trolls. Like our charming Viking demeanor wouldn’t do that._

Hiccup dodged a few warriors before tripping and landing on his back. Ack, a Berkian who loved to start the morning with a drink and rousing battle cry, just so happened to be near him and he roared in Hiccup’s face.

“Mornin’!” he greeted Hiccup cheerfully before going on his merry way.

Hiccup quickly stood up and began running, ignoring the shouts of villagers for him to get back inside so he wouldn’t cause trouble. He always ignored them. He was used to it. As he ran, Hiccup spotted a dark-haired girl with two battle sticks strapped to her back running through the battlefield. She glanced in his direction and grinned, joining him.

“Hey, Hicc!” the girl chirped, keeping pace with him now. Her violet eyes glinted like amethysts in the firelight.

_This is Zenna. She’s pretty much my only friend on Berk. She’s one of the sweetest people I know, but don’t let that fool you. She’s one of the fiercest warriors I’ve had the privilege of meeting. Those sticks of hers can crack open a man’s skull like an egg with one good swing._

“Morning, Zen!” Hiccup high-fived Zenna and they sprinted across the terrain. They skidded to a stop, narrowly avoiding another dragon’s fire before Hiccup was suddenly picked up off the ground by the chief.

The man’s red beard bristled as he held the boy up with one hand. “Hiccup?! What is he doing out aga--?! What are you doing out?! Get inside!” he shouted, dropping Hiccup and surveying the area. While he was distracted, Hiccup and Zenna ran off.

_That's Stoick the Vast. Chief of the tribe. They say that when he was a baby, he popped a dragon's head clean off of its shoulders. Do I believe it? Yes, I do._

Stoick spotted a dragon trying to escape with its catch. He picked up a large wagon and threw it at the beast, knocking it out of the sky. “What have we got?” he asked Starkard, one of his soldiers.

“Gronckles, Nadders, Zipplebacks. Oh, and Hoark saw a Monstrous Nightmare,” Starkard replied. A dragon swooped by and blasted a house to bits, sending embers into the air.

“Any Night Furies?” Stoick inquired. Gronckles, Nadders, Zipplebacks, and Monstrous Nightmares they could handle. But a Night Fury was the deadliest and most elusive. Any Viking who dared to try and face one was asking for an early funeral.

“None so far,” Starkard said, eyeing the embers that had fallen onto Stoick’s shoulder.

“Good,” Stoick said gruffly, casually brushing the embers off.

Hiccup and Zenna ran past Vikings hoisting the grand torches, inventions of Hiccup’s design, and sprinted towards the forge, which was manned by a one-armed and peg-legged Viking with a blond mustache that looked like a furry corn-colored caterpillar.

“Ah! Nice of you and Zen to join the party! I thought you’d been carried off!” the blacksmith said cheerfully as Hiccup rushed into the forge and put on an apron.

“What, who, me? Nah, come on! I’m way too muscular for their taste. They wouldn’t know what to with all… this…” Hiccup struck a pose, flexing his skinny arm, trying and failing to look buff. Zenna giggled and shook her head fondly at the adorable dork that was her best friend.

“Well, they need toothpicks, don’t they?” the blacksmith asked jokingly, replacing his hook hand with a hammer.

_The meat-head with attitude and interchangeable hands is Gobber. I've been his apprentice ever since I was little. Well... littler._

The two had just begun working, with Zenna guarding the forge, when a tall, dark-haired, 17-year old man with pale skin strolled over to the forge, looking as if for all the world he was taking a leisurely early morning walk.

“Fine day for a raid, huh?” he drawled, bumping shoulders with Zenna, and presented two daggers. “They could use a good sharpening.” He smiled at Hiccup.

“On it,” Hiccup said, grinning, and took the man’s blades to be sharpened. All the while, his customer looked up at the sky intently.

_Oh, and that’s Erland. He’s new. Two weeks ago, Zenna and I found him passed out on Thor’s Beach and we rescued him. He’s been occasionally hanging out with us ever since. Zen and I both see Erland as our friend, even though he tries to deny it. I like to think he’s got a soft spot for both of us. He may be aloof but he is good company, especially around in these parts where it’s kill or be killed._

Hiccup handed Erland his newly-sharpened daggers just as a dragon swooped down and set another house on fire.

_See? Old village, lots and lots of new houses._

“FIRE!”

A blonde girl came running, shouting, “Alright, let’s go!” followed by a short, pug-nosed boy, a husky blond wearing a furry outfit, and two twins with long hair. All five of them carried buckets and took turns hauling a cart with a large drum of water.

_Oh, and that’s Fishlegs, Snotlout, the Twins, Ruffnut and Tuffnut, and…_

The girl Viking leading the group threw a bucket of water at the flaming house and turned around, just as a fireball exploded nearby, illuminating her and the other members of the group.

Erland rolled his eyes. _‘So dramatic,’_ he thought, watching the teens rush off to fight more fires.

_Astrid…_

“Oh boy…” sighed Zenna, nudging Erland. Both of them saw the dreamy-eyed look on Hiccup’s face. Whenever Astrid Hofferson was around, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III became an even more awkward stuttering mess than he already was on a daily basis.

Hiccup leaned out of the workshop’s window to get a better look. _‘Oh, their job is so much cooler…’_ he thought in awe. Gobber grabbed him and pulled him back in before he could climb out.

“Oh, come on. Let me out, please? I need to make my mark!” Hiccup protested, looking at his mentor.

Gobber shook his head. “Oh, you’ve made _plenty_ of marks. All in the wrong places!” he pointed out, putting his wooden leg down.

“Please, two minutes. I’ll kill a dragon. My life will infinitely get better. I might even get a date,” pleaded Hiccup, not willing to give up.

“You can’t lift a hammer,” Gobber began to count the reasons why his apprentice needed to stay put.

“Wrong!” Erland piped up. He’d seen Hiccup lift hammers while he was working. Maybe not lifting them high above his head like Thor, but he could handle their weight.

“You can’t swing an ax,” Gobber continued.

“He can! Just not that well,” added Zenna.

Ignoring the two, Gobber held up a bola. “You can’t even throw one of these!”

As if the gods wished to emphasize Gobber’s point, a Viking came running to the shop. He grabbed the bola and threw it into the air, knocking a Gronckle out of the sky.

Undeterred, Hiccup took a few steps back. “Okay, fine, but this will throw it for me,” he announced, uncovering his latest invention – the Mangler.

With a crosshair and automatic launch system, the Mangler was capable of launching a bola quicker than a man can wield it. Of course, the contraption had a few minor kinks. Case in point, just the lightest touch from Hiccup was enough to send a bola flying out towards Erland and Zenna, who both ducked. An unlucky bystander got hit instead.

“You all right there, sir?” Zenna asked, concerned.

“Well, at least we know it works,” Erland said optimistically.

Gobber was not impressed. “See, now this right here is what I’m talking about!” he exclaimed.

Hiccup’s ears went red. “Mild calibration issue…” he managed to say before Gobber cut him off.

“Hiccup. If you ever want to get out there to fight dragons, you need to stop all…” Gobber gestured with both hands to Hiccup’s entire skinny frame. “… this.”

“But you just pointed to _all of me!_ ” Hiccup said, indignant.

“Yes! That’s it! Stop being all of you!” Gobber said emphatically.

“Like that’s going to happen,” Zenna said, smiling to herself. Hiccup would always be Hiccup, which was just fine for her. She loved that dork just the way he was like her own flesh and blood.

“And so begins the battle of wills,” remarked Erland, watching the blacksmith and his apprentice banter.

Hiccup and Gobber both exchanged steely looks. “You, sir, are playing a dangerous game. Keeping this much, raw… Viking-ness… contained? _There will be consequences!_ ” the former yelled at the latter who was unfazed.

“I’ll take my chances,” Gobber deadpanned, dropping a sword into Hiccup’s arms. “Sword. Sharpen. Now.”

“You’ll get your chance,” Erland reassured Hiccup, looking over his shoulder. The raid showed no signs of stopping. The roars and shrieks of dragons filled the air. Some even tried to attack the forge only to be beaten back by him and Zenna.

_One day, I’ll get out there. Because killing a dragon is **everything** around here._

Zenna swung her sticks at a Deadly Nadder, a wyvern-like creature with colorful spikes adorning its head like a frill, additional spikes on its tail as a defense mechanism. “Away, spiky pest!” Zenna cried out, hitting the dragon in the chest. It flew away, squawking like a chicken.

_A Nadder head is sure to get me at least noticed._

Erland tangled with a bulky dragon that looked like a pile of rocks come to life that had gotten a bad case of acne. Hiccup watched, awestruck, as Erland did nothing but stare the dragon down - a Gronckle - until the beast fled.

_Gronckles are tough. Taking down one of those would **definitely** get me a girlfriend._

A house exploded in the distance, a two-headed dragon flying out of the smoke.

_A Zippleback? Exotic. Two heads, twice the status._

“Oh dear,” Erland set his eyes on a distant watchtower. “I see the chief’s in a bit of a pickle.”

Following their friend’s eye, Hiccup and Zenna saw Stoick facing against an enormous dragon cloaked entirely in flame.

_And then, there’s the Monstrous Nightmare. Only the best Vikings go after those. They have a nasty habit of setting themselves on fire._

“No, wait… Ah, he’s punching it with his bare hands… And there it goes…” Erland commented, watching the whole scene with interest.

_But the ultimate prize is the dragon no one has ever seen. We call it the…_

A high-pitched whistle filled the air, making Hiccup’s bones vibrate, causing the hairs on the back of Erland’s neck to stand up, and Zenna’s eyes widened at the sound.

“NIGHT FURY!”

“GET DOWN!”

Erland and Zenna hit the ground just as the tower Stoick was standing on was blasted apart. The Night Fury, as usual, had found its mark.

_This thing never steals food, never shows itself, and…_

Erland got up then was yanked back down by Zenna when another catapult burst into flames.

_…never misses._

A few seconds passed. Once they were sure the Night Fury wasn’t going to strike again, the three teens stood up. Zenna’s grip tightened around her sticks as she, along with Erland, gazed up at the night sky in search of the elusive dragon. Hiccup was also looking up at the sky, face set in determination.

_No one has ever killed a Night Fury. That’s why I’m going to be the first._

Gobber sighed, replacing his prosthetic with an axe blade. “Man the fort, Hiccup. They need me out there!” he declared, turning to his apprentice.

“Stay. Put. There.”

At Hiccup’s confused look, Gobber sighed, “You know what I mean.”

“And you two,” Gobber said, turning to Erland and Zenna. “make sure he does.” He instructed the two before rushing out into the open with a war cry.

Once the blacksmith was out of sight and out of earshot, Erland glanced at Hiccup and Zenna. “Okay, he’s gone. Where are we testing that contraption of yours?” he asked, pointing to the Mangler with a devious smirk on his face.

Zenna and Hiccup traded excited grins. Tonight was the night that they were going to capture a Night Fury.

* * *

Edgar and Henna were in the thick of the battle in the plaza. Swinging his sword, Edgar wounded a Nadder in the leg while Henna shot a Zippleback out of the sky with her crossbow.

“They’re getting more daring, love! Mind your flank!” grunted Edgar, swinging his sword.

“Oh, contrary, darling, I think _you_ should watch yours,” Henna loaded her crossbow and fired another bolt, taking down a Nadder that was sneaking up on her husband. Edgar looked at the downed dragon then at his wife and chuckled.

Then to their surprise, Hiccup came running through the plaza, pushing a cart with another one of his eccentric contraptions on it, with their daughter and Erland right behind him.

“Zenna, why aren’t you with Astrid on fire brigade duty?!” Edgar hollered.

“They can handle it, Dad!” Zenna hollered back.

“Zenna Arrowhead Fiersome, come back here this instant!” Henna shouted only for her daughter to disappear into the crowd.

Looking at each other, Edgar and Henna shook their heads. When it came to Hiccup, their daughter was not the kind of person to take orders from anybody else.

* * *

“This should be a good spot,” Erland said, stopping at an empty hill that had a picturesque view of the night sky. Hiccup set up the catapult with Zenna’s help and, once the Mangler was in position, they waited.

“Question, how are we supposed to spot a dragon that can blend in with the night sky?” asked Erland, narrowing his eyes.

“Keep your eyes open and pray to the gods we get lucky, Erland.” Zenna turned her head from left to right, eyes focused on the sky above them.

Hiccup readied his thumb on the Mangler’s trigger. “Come on. Gimme something to shoot at, gimme something to shoot at,” he whispered to himself. He needed to get lucky this time. If he took down the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself, he would be a hero at long last.

And his father would finally see him, like actually _see_ him…

A minute, then two, then three minutes passed without anything. Then they saw it. A shadow blotting out the stars.

_BOOM!_

Another explosion. And this time, they could see the Night Fury’s form, illuminated by the blaze.

“There!” Erland shouted, pointing at it frantically.

“Hicc, shoot it now! Shoot it now!” Zenna yelled.

Taking aim, Hiccup pulled the trigger. A bola launched out, the force sending Hiccup flying backward. Erland and Zenna saw the bola connect with its target.

Suddenly Erland cried out and covered his ears as an unearthly shriek filled the air.

“Holy Shields, are you okay?” Zenna asked, concerned, only for Erland to wave her off. The boy’s face had turned white as milk and his lips were twisted into a grimace.

Hiccup stood up and watched a dark shape plummet down, disappearing somewhere off Raven Point. He blinked, stunned, then began to celebrate. “Oh, I hit it! YES! I HIT IT! Did anybody see that?!”

Erland and Zenna were about to say that they did when a Monstrous Nightmare appeared over the hill. It growled, its whole body covered in fire, and a massive claw crushed the Mangler to bits.

“Except for you,” Hiccup deadpanned, his joy quickly doused by fear.

The Nightmare growled and Erland was the first to react.

“ _…Run._ ”

* * *

Stoick was just about done securing a couple of Nadders that had tried to steal the last of the island’s sheep with nets when he heard a shrill scream cut through the air. Looking up, Stoick growled when he saw a Monstrous Nightmare chasing his son, Edgar and Henna’s daughter, and Gothi’s young ward down a hill.

“Do _not_ let them escape!” he ordered Spitelout before running to their aid.

* * *

“Can’t you chase some other Vikings instead?!” Erland looked over his shoulder, yelping when the Nightmare’s jaws came close to snapping him up. “Seriously, what did we ever do to you?!”

He knew that there was no use in reasoning with the dragon, even though it could understand him. He tried to calm his mind, listen in case the dragon had something to say, only to get nothing. The beast was too enraged. The only option he, Hiccup, and Zenna had was to run like hell.

The trio ran all the way to the plaza, where they took refuge behind a torch pole just as the Nightmare breathed fire. Zenna yelped, inching closer to Hiccup who inched closer to Erland who, in turn, wrapped his long arms around the two protectively. The Nightmare snarled, just on the other side, reaching for the smaller boy when, all of a sudden, Stoick came running and punched it in the face.

The Nightmare roared, jumping back and tried to fire a blast but only coughed out a few drops of its special napalm.

“You’re all out,” Stoick declared, punching the beast a few more times before it flew away in defeat.

_Oh, and there’s one more thing you need to know…_

The torch pole groaned and shuddered. The dragon’s flame had greatly compromised its structural integrity. Stoick turned, eyes blazing with fury, just as the pole snapped and collapsed on its side. Hiccup, Zenna, and Erland watched, each of them cringing, as the pole rolled and tumbled down the village, leaving ruins in its wake.

“Sorry, _Dad_ ,” Hiccup mumbled, looking up at his father then looking around at the villagers assembled around them. He had messed up… again.

For a moment, nobody said anything. They were all too busy glaring at their useless heir. The dragons were already leaving, sheep and smoked fish clutched in their talons, as the sun rose. Then…

“Okay, but I hit a Night Fury.”

Stoick had heard enough. He grabbed Hiccup by the back of his tunic and began hauling him towards the house.

Hiccup flailed and twisted about. “I-It’s not like the last few times, Dad! I mean, I really actually hit it! You guys were busy, and I had a very clear shot. It went down, just off Raven Point. Let’s get a search party out there, before it…” he protested.

“STOP!”

Hiccup cringed and looked up at his father. The look of utter disappointment was already familiar to him, but it never failed to make whatever hope he had in his heart of his father being proud of him to shrivel like grass in a drought.

“Just… stop,” Stoick sighed then proceeded to give his son a lecture in front of the entire village. “Every time you step outside, disaster follows. Can you not see that I have bigger problems? Winter is almost here and I have an _entire_ village to feed!” he ranted.

Covering up his pain with his trademark humor, Hiccup said, somewhat sarcastically, “Well, between you and me, the village could do with a little _less_ feeding, don’t ya think?”

Erland didn’t even bother to cover his mouth as a laugh escaped from his lips. Even Zenna giggled when she saw one tubby Viking at the back rub his stomach in embarrassment.

“This isn’t a joke, Hiccup!” Stoick sent a glare in his son’s friends’ direction. “Why can’t you follow the simplest orders?”

Hiccup shrugged. “I-I can’t stop myself. I see a dragon and I have to just… kill it, you know?” He balled up his fist and ground it down onto his palm. “It’s who I am, Dad.”

“You are many things, Hiccup. But a dragon killer is not one of them.” Stoick shook his head in exasperation. “Get back to the house” he ordered, giving his son one last disappointed glare, then turned to Gobber who awkwardly stood by.

“Make sure he gets there. I have his mess to clean up,” he said, turning away.

At Hiccup’s crestfallen look, Erland and Zenna both felt their blood boil.

“He _did_ shoot down a Night Fury, Chief!”

“We were there. We saw him do it.”

Stoick turned around to see Erland and Zenna walking over to Hiccup, standing on either side of him.

“Why not send a search party?” Zenna asked, one hand on her hip and the other twirling one of her battle sticks.

“And how can you say that _this,_ ” Erland gestured to the carnage around them. “is your son’s doing? If you ask me, the dragons did a lot more damage than him,” he pointed out, glaring coolly at the chief.

_‘How dare they pin all the blame on one boy? Oh, if I had my magic, I would show Stoick every mistake he’s made as a father,’_ Loki muttered to himself in his head. The Chief was now beginning to remind him of Odin, and he didn’t like the parallels between the All-Father and the chief of Berk. Not one bit.

Stoick crossed his arms and drew himself up to his full height. “I don’t expect a newcomer to my village to understand how dire the situation is.” He gave Erland a hard look. “But Zenna?” he raised an eyebrow at the Fiersome girl. “I thought you knew better.”

“Dad…” Hiccup tried to defend his best friend.

That’s when Edgar and Henna stepped forward, both of them looking at their daughter with disappointment.

“Sorry about all of this, Stoick,” Edgar mumbled before looking at his daughter sternly. “Zenna, your mother and I told you to stay with the fire brigade tonight. Why didn’t you listen?” he asked.

Zenna bit her lip and looked down at her boots. While her parents never raised their voices at her, getting scolded was something she really didn’t like. The disappointment and quiet anger in her parents’ eyes was enough to make her want the ground to open up and swallow her whole.

“I… I thought that they could handle fire duty without me…” she mumbled.

“Regardless of what you think, love, you had a duty to fulfill and you abandoned it,” Henna sighed, frowning. Zenna nodded meekly, accepting her parents’ judgment.

“We’ll discuss this later. For now, go back to the house,” Edgar said, his blue eyes softening just a bit.

With a heavy sigh, Zenna trudged off in the direction of her house, which just so happened to be where Hiccup was going with Gobber gently pushing him along. They passed by the fire brigade, which consisted of Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut.

“Quite the performance,” Tuffnut snickered as Hiccup passed by. Then his face went red when Zenna glared at him. “Not you, Zen! You were awesome as always!” he said hastily, only to get a silent glare as Zenna huffed and flicked her bangs in anger.

“I’ve never seen anyone mess up that badly. That helped!” Snotlout jeered.

“Thank you, thank you. I was trying, so…” Hiccup sighed, out of motivation to continue his comeback, and walked away. Fishlegs and Astrid merely looked on.

“Honestly, I don’t get why and how Zenna puts up with you and your failures!” Snotlout hollered, only to scream as an insanely hard 28-inch long stick knocked his helmet off of his head.

“Good throw, lass!” Gobber chuckled, picking up the stick Zenna had thrown at Snotlout and tossing it back to her.

Zenna glared at Snotlout, amethyst eyes blazing, then glanced at Hiccup. She smiled to reassure him, and Hiccup returned the smile, albeit a little glumly. Their houses were just a few feet away from each other, with Hiccup’s being the one closest to the Great Hall.

Zenna waved to Hiccup and Gobber, who waved back, and went inside her house. Once she was in her room, Zenna groaned and, with her back against the door, slid down until she was sitting on the floor. She looked up at the shield painting that she hung over her desk near the window. Her mother and father, eight years younger, smiled at her.

Standing in front of their parents in the painting was a young Zenna, smiling her gap-toothed grin, and a young boy with tousled black hair and icy blue eyes like Edgar’s.

“Well, Eli, Hiccup finally shot down a Night Fury,” Zenna spoke to the painting, her eyes focused on her brother. “Of course, no one saw him except for me and the new guy…”

Standing up, Zenna crossed her room until she was at her desk. Standing up on it, she removed the painting from the wall and gently rubbed her finger against Elias’s painted cheek. “If only you were here, bro. I bet everyone would take us seriously if you were around,” she sighed.

* * *

While Zenna was having a conversation with her family’s portrait, Hiccup was having his own self-deprecating talk with Gobber.

“I really did hit one,” he muttered, climbing up the uneven steps to the house.

“Sure, Hiccup,” Gobber replied, not convinced.

“He never listens.”

“Well, it runs in the family.”

“And when he does, it’s always with this… disappointed scowl. Like someone skimped on the meat in his sandwich,” Hiccup said then turned to do one of his famous, pitch-perfect imitations of his father.

“ _Excuse me, barmaid! I’m afraid you brought me the wrong offspring. I ordered an extra-large boy with beefy arms. Extra guts and glory on the side. This here, this is a talking fishbone!_ ”

As good as it felt to do that, Hiccup felt weighed down with the knowledge that, no matter how hard he tried, he would always never be enough. He had already gotten used to that a long time ago. But that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt any less every time his father looked at him with that disappointed scowl.

“Now, you’re thinking about this all wrong. It’s not so much what you look like, it’s what’s inside that he can’t stand,” Gobber said helpfully, only making things worse.

“Thank you for summing that up,” Hiccup said sarcastically. If there was one thing his mentor sucked at, it was giving pep talks.

“Look, the point is, stop trying so hard to be something you’re not,” Gobber sighed, looking at his apprentice with a slight bit of pity and exasperation.

“I just want to be one of you guys,” Hiccup told him, heading inside.

* * *

At the same time that this whole exchange between apprentice and blacksmith was happening, Erland was doing his best to talk some sense into Stoick. “He really did shoot down a Night Fury. And would he lie to you? His own father?” he asked.

Stoick faced the newcomer, his eyes steely.

“Look, chief,” Erland ran a hand through his hair, feeling as if he were talking to a glacier. “All I’m saying is that you should give Hiccup a chance. How do you expect him to be the next chief when you don’t include him in things?” he questioned Stoick, just as Gothi came out of the Great Hall, leading the children back to their homes.

Stoick gave the elder a respectful nod then turned his attention back to Erland. “Gothi needs help bringing the kids home,” he said then entered the Great Hall.

“Unbelievable.” Erland raised his gaze to the heavens. “It’s like he didn’t hear a word I said,” he hissed under his breath. Gothi gave him a sympathetic look, patting him on the back, and motioned to the children to follow her and her young ward.

Erland prepared to help the elder in corralling the children home when he saw Hiccup run out the back door of his house; followed by Zenna climbing out of a window and going after him. He then felt a light tap on his shoulder and he glanced at Gothi. The elder smiled, knowing what the young man had on his mind, and gestured to the woods as if saying, _“Go ahead. Follow them if you must.”_

Smiling gratefully, Erland turned around and hurried after Hiccup and Zenna.


	2. Children Won't Always Listen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is based on the short scene between Stoick and Gobber in the Great Hall. My OC, Zenna's parents - Edgar and Henna - have been added to this chapter, which provides insight into Zenna's family and their relationship with the Haddock Family.

**Chapter 2: Children Won’t Always Listen**

The Great Hall was packed. All of Berk’s warriors listened to their chief as he hunched over a map of Berk and its surrounding territories.

“Either we finish them, or they’ll finish us! It’s the only way we’ll be rid of them! If we find the nest and destroy it, the dragons will leave. They’ll find another home!” Stoick declared, sticking a knife into the cloud-obscured area on the map that represented Helheim’s Gate. “One more search. Before the ice sets in,” he insisted.

“Those ships never come back,” One member of the crowd piped up.

“We’re Vikings! It’s an occupational hazard! Now, who’s with me?” Stoick faced his people, eyes set with the steely determination that comes with prepping for a hunt.

Complete silence. Then the excuses started flying.

“Today’s not good for me.”

“I’ve gotta do my ax returns.”

Luckily, Stoick knew just how to persuade his people into going on a suicide mission. “Alright. Those who stay will look after Hiccup,” he said lightly.

Edgar and Henna scowled when everybody’s hands went up, cries of “To the ships!” echoing through the hall while Spitelout said eagerly, “I’m with you, Stoick!”

Stoick glanced to his right and frowned when he saw Zenna’s parents disapproving looks. He knew his parenting style wasn’t like theirs, but Edgar and Henna didn’t understand how hard it was for him. How hard it’s been to raise Hiccup alone without Valka, to be a chief to his people and take care of a boy who couldn’t fit the mold they all wanted him to fill at the same time. Sighing, he looked away before he could feel obliged to say something in his defense.

“Right, I’ll pack my undies,” Gobber said as the meeting adjourned, grabbing a tankard of mead. Edgar and Henna sat with him, filling their own cups and drinking deeply.

“No, I need you to stay and train some new recruits,” Stoick told him.

At the chief’s words, Edgar and Henna nearly choked on their drinks. Not this again…

“Oh, perfect. And while I’m busy, Hiccup can cover the stall. Molten steel, razor-sharp blades, lots of time to himself… what could possibly go wrong?” asked Gobber, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Stoick sighed, sitting down, head bent. “What am I going to do with him, Gobber?” he asked.

Henna was about to open her mouth, to give her own suggestion, when Gobber beat her to it.

“Put him in training with the others.”

“No, I’m serious.”

“So am I.”

Stoick looked at his best friend incredulously. “He’d be killed before you let the first dragon out of its cage,” he said.

“Oh, you don’t know that.” Gobber flipped a hand at him.

“I do know that, actually,” Stoick retorted.

“No, you don’t,” came Gobber’s rebuttal.

“No, actually, I do.”

“No, you don’t!”

“How long is this going to go on now, chief?” Edgar frowned. “Because I have a feeling my wife and I are gonna hear something we won’t like soon enough,” he added, Henna nodding in agreement.

“Listen, you know what he’s like,” Stoick stood up and paced. “From the time he could crawl he’s been… _different._ He doesn’t listen, he has the attention span of a sparrow…” a soft laugh escaped as he breathed out. “I take him fishing and he goes hunting for… _for trolls_!” he exclaimed.

Edgar and Henna smiled fondly at the memory of seeing little Hiccup running around with their children when they were very young, proclaiming that they had seen trolls wandering around in the forest.

“Trolls exist! They steal your socks. But only the left ones. What’s up with that?” Gobber said after taking a swig of ale.

“When I was a boy…”

“Not this again…” Henna sighed as Gobber groaned, “Oh, here we go…”

“My father told me to bang my head against a rock,” Stoick pressed on with his story. “and I did it. I thought it was crazy, but I didn’t question him. And you know what happened?” he turned to Gobber, Edgar, and Henna.

“You got a headache,” All three of them chimed in.

“That rock split in two,” Stoick concluded his tale, looking up at the tapestries, some of Henna’s own making, depicting scenes of battle, pieces of their ancestors’ history. “It taught me what a Viking could do. He could crush mountains, level forests, tame seas!”

“We’re not gods, Stoick. We barely hold dominion over the land as it is,” Edgar sighed, taking a long sip of ale.

Stoick acknowledged his point with a slight nod but was undeterred. “Even as a boy, I knew what I was, what I had to become. Hiccup is _not_ that boy,” he said, sinking into a chair.

Gobber gave his friend a rare look of pity. “You can’t stop him, Stoick. You can only prepare him,” he said, causing his friend to look at him. “Look, I know it seems hopeless. But the truth is you won’t always be around to protect him. He’s going to get out there again. He’s probably out there now!” he insisted.

“And no doubt about it, so is our Zenna,” Henna sighed, a half-smile on her face. “As if she were Hiccup’s own shadow.”

“A toast to that, my love,” Edgar chuckled, tapping his mug against his wife’s.

Stoick furrowed his eyebrows then sighed, making his decision. “Alright. He starts tomorrow,” he said, squaring his shoulders, then looked at the Fiersomes. “And Zenna will come with him.”

Gobber gulped as Edgar and Henna shot up from their seats.

“We’ve discussed this before, Stoick. We are not letting Zenna partake in dragon killing lessons,” Edgar said, icy blue eyes staring Stoick down. “I’ve already been training her since she was a girl, and she can protect herself.”

“But can she protect herself from a _dragon_ , Edgar? A thousand-pound beast that can roast a man alive with one breath? This isn’t just about your daughter defending herself from ruffians, thieves, or rapists,” Stoick countered. “It’s about doing her duty to Berk itself.”

“Zenna is already doing her duty by training to become a healer,” Henna told him, her warm voice suddenly taking a sharp edge.

“But she can become _more_ , Henna. Put her in training and she will rise through the ranks to become a great warrior, just like Eli—” Stoick managed to say before Henna stomped up to him, expression livid.

“No! You aren’t going to lure my daughter in with false promises of glory and honor, Stoick! My husband and I let you do it once, and we lost our son because of it!” she yelled, caramel eyes betraying her immense grief.

Edgar didn’t say anything; merely wrapping an arm around his wife’s waist while giving Stoick a cold look.

Gobber squirmed in his chair, feeling very uncomfortable at what he was seeing. But he knew that this was how things were now between the three parents.

Ever since Elias Fiersome died during a raid at the age of 13.

Gobber turned his head away from the unfolding drama, focusing on a little corner of the Great Hall. He could still picture the young lad, only ten years of age, being approached by him and Stoick. They had offered him a place in dragon training, Gobber promising him to teach him how to wield a sword like a pro, Stoick promising glory in becoming a dragon killer.

Edgar and Henna had been reluctant to let Elias join the recruits, all teens taller and brawnier than him, but the boy had been so excited and so eager to prove himself useful to the tribe he had just joined a little over two years since his family arrived from Lapland’s shores. They couldn’t say no. It was the chief, after all. And they were still learning the ways of Berk.

Gobber smiled wistfully to himself as he pictured Elias, blue eyes shining and hair perpetually messy, standing proudly amidst the older recruits, his battle sticks – weaponry unlike anything ever seen on Berk – gripped tightly in his hands.

And, by Thor, had Elias done well in training. His smaller size made him a difficult target for the dragons. His skill in both acrobatics and running made him an artful dodger. Under both Gobber and Edgar’s guidance, Elias became a skilled swordsman and could wield a blade as well as any warrior. While he used his sticks during training, Elias learned how to wield both weapons separately.

It was no wonder he was chosen to slay the dragon in front of the entire village. Edgar and Henna had been furious with the decision. Zenna, still a slip of a girl, had been terrified at the idea of her big brother facing a vicious dragon alone. But Elias had accepted the offer, still wholeheartedly believing that what Stoick told him was true.

The crowd had gone wild when they saw him, a young boy just turning eleven, driving his sword through a Monstrous Nightmare’s heart, and suffering only a few mild burns and a broken ankle in the process. Proud as they had been on that day, Edgar and Henna had every right to feel worried about the path their son had chosen.

And, while they didn’t say it out loud, Gobber knew they blamed his best friend for their son’s early death.

Gobber glanced out the corner of his eye to see Stoick looking down at the floor. Stoick felt a rare burst of shame well up inside his gut. He knew that they blamed him for what happened to their son, and he didn’t fault them for doing so. Edgar and Henna had lost their eldest child. Zenna had lost her big brother.

And Hiccup had lost his older brother figure and a best friend.

“I’m not asking you to let Zenna join training so she can get glory,” he said, at last, looking at Edgar and Henna. “I’m asking you two to let her participate because I _need_ someone to watch out for my son while he’s in the ring. Someone he trusts,” he pleaded. If Zenna were to join dragon training, Hiccup would be fine tagging along with her. The two of them could barely spend one day apart from each other, so great was their bond.

Edgar and Henna stared at him, stone-faced.

“Edgar, Henna, _please._ ”

A long moment of silence passed before the couple caved. “Fine,” Henna sighed tiredly then fixed a murderous glare on the chief. “But if my husband and I come back from this search and we find even so much as one _scratch_ on our girl, there will be consequences, chief.”

Stoick nodded gravely, allowing Henna and Edgar to pass by him. Edgar bumped Stoick’s elbow lightly. “For the record, Stoick… children won’t always listen. I wouldn’t be surprised if my wife and I return to our house now and find our daughter gone,” he said quietly then followed his wife out of the Great Hall.

Stoick watched the two leave, already having an inkling that his own son was out there again doing who knows what, with Elias’ little sister at his side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you can see, Stoick and Zenna's parents don't always agree when it comes to raising their children. While Stoick's a somewhat distant parent towards Hiccup, Edgar and Henna are very much involved in their children's upbringing. Having lost their eldest son, they are protective of Zenna. Of course, Stoick and Zenna's parents sometimes clash when it comes to the matter of bringing up their kids. But, for Hiccup and Zenna's sake, they try to keep that animosity towards each other under wraps.


	3. The Downed Dragon... and Its Mate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Hiccup and Zenna go looking for the downed Night Fury and get more than what they bargained for.

**Chapter 3: The Downed Dragon… And Its Mate**

Zenna shifted the weight of her sticks on her back as she followed Hiccup deeper into Raven Point’s woods. She kept her eyes and ears open, in case the Night Fury had escaped its bonds and was now loose. Ahead of her, Hiccup was crossing out all the spots he had checked. So far he hadn’t spotted the Night Fury, not even a scale!

He angrily rubbed his charcoal over his notebook’s pages then snapped it shut. “Oh, the gods hate me. Some people lose their knife or their mug. No, not me. I manage to lose _an_ _entire dragon?!_ ” he ranted.

Zenna breathed out a quiet sigh, watching Hiccup rant, then approached him just as he tried to swat away a branch only for it to swat him back in the face. She cleared her throat, making Hiccup jump and whirl around.

“Zen! I-I thought you went home!” Hiccup blinked, emerald eyes wide, at his best friend.

“I did. And I saw you sneak out so… here I am,” Zenna replied then looked up at the tree beside Hiccup. The trunk was nearly split all the way down to the middle, one side leaning precariously to the left.

Zenna reached up behind her to brush her fingers against her sticks strapped to her back, a habit that calmed her.

“And I think we should check that out.” She unstrapped one of her sticks and pointed at the shallow trench gouged into the earth just one step away from them.

Hiccup swallowed the lump in his throat and bravely took the first step, Zenna right behind him. The trench was wide enough for the two of them to walk side-by-side. They stepped over a protruding branch and crept up a small mound of earth before gasping and ducking back down.

Zenna glanced at Hiccup, face pale and violet eyes wide. They had seen the exact same thing, right?

Sensing his friend’s anxiety, Hiccup dared to look again. And what he saw was real.

_The Night Fury._

Hiccup took out his puny knife, hands shaking, and motioned for Zenna to follow him. “Stay close,” he whispered, climbing out of the trench.

It only took one look at the downed dragon for Zenna to unstrap both of her sticks and hold them in a defensive stance. “Holy Shields…” she breathed out, taking cover behind a rock with Hiccup.

Peering out of the rock, Hiccup could see that the Night Fury was tangled up in his bola. It was unconscious, too.

“Oh, wow. I-I did it,” Hiccup said, still wondering if he was seeing things. But the more he looked, the more he believed. Fear was replaced by adrenaline as realization dawned on him.

He, Hiccup the Useless, had done it.

He had taken down a Night Fury!

“Oh, I did it! This fixes everything! Yes!” Hiccup exclaimed, keeping his voice low, and planted his foot on the fallen dragon’s head.

Suddenly the Night Fury let out a low growl and moved, startling Hiccup so badly that he flailed backward onto the rock. Zenna jumped out from behind it, her sticks raised and poised to strike.

Holding his knife out in front of him, Hiccup approached the dragon, taking in every detail of its features.

The Night Fury was breathtakingly beautiful. Its scales were a deep, deep navy blue, almost black in the daylight. And its body was the perfect balance of muscled and streamlined. Two large bat-like wings were folded awkwardly on its back, the ropes from the bola keeping them from fully closing. ‘ _No wonder it doesn’t steal food,_ ’ thought Hiccup as he looked at the Night Fury with equal parts fear and awe. _‘Its entire body is built for speed, not combat.’_

Zenna was also looking at the Night Fury with interest. _‘A magnificent creature… Oh, wow… what would Elias think if he saw one of these?’_ she thought, feeling a stab of sympathy for the dragon currently at her best friend’s mercy. She took a step forward and Hiccup held up a hand, a sign for her to keep back.

His gaze finally focused on the Night Fury’s face. To his surprise, the dragon was now awake, its acid green eye staring a hole into his skull. Hiccup wished it didn’t do that. Moans rumbled deep from within the dragon’s throat.

It was just as scared as the little Viking looming above it.

Pushing down the bile in his throat, Hiccup took out his knife. “I’m going to kill you, dragon. I’m gonna cut out your heart and take it to my father. I’m a Viking…” he raised his knife, ready to end it. “I am a _Viking!_ ” he shouted, more of an affirmation to himself than a declaration to the dragon beneath him, and raised his knife high.

All the while Zenna watched, muscles tensed and ready to spring to Hiccup’s aid. Part of her wanted to look away, to spare herself from the inevitable blood and gore, but she refused to give in to that part of herself that was more healer than warrior. Besides, she had to be ready to help Hiccup in case the Night Fury tried to attack…

But seconds passed and Hiccup still did not kill the Night Fury.

His knife was already raised above his head. All he had to do was bring it down on the dragon’s chest and it would all be over.

So why couldn’t he do it?

The Night Fury closed its eyes and dropped its head onto the ground, accepting defeat. Finally, after a long minute, Hiccup let out a frustrated grunt and let his arms fall limp.

“I did this…” he murmured, noticing how the ropes were beginning to chafe against the Night Fury’s midnight blue-black hide.

Zenna patted her friend’s shoulder. “We can still go back and get your dad?” she suggested, motioning with her head to the way back. Hiccup took a deep breath, letting the air out through his nose, and nodded.

“Wait till Snotlout sees this! He won’t be able to torment you ever again!” Zenna laughed and began to turn around.

She had only taken three steps when she heard the distinctive sound of ropes being cut. When she turned around, Zenna swore her heart stopped. “Holy Shields, Hiccup, what are you doing?!” she shrieked once she saw Hiccup cutting the ropes holding the Night Fury down. She needed to stop him.

But Zenna had just taken one step towards her friend when the last rope was cut.

Free from its bonds, the Night Fury jumped on Hiccup and pinned him against the rock!

“No! Get away!” Zenna yelled, raising her battle sticks high in the air.

But she had barely taken another step when a black blur burst out of the bushes and pinned her to the ground. Zenna cursed as her sticks were knocked out of her hands, clattering onto the ground just inches from her grasp. She squirmed against her captor’s weight before finally looking up.

She wasn’t sure if Hiccup was paying attention, but if he was, he’d be just as shell-shocked as she was now.

For pinning the Fiersome girl down, eyes an intense green shade that it almost glowed, was _another_ Night Fury.

Zenna felt her breath catch in her throat. This Night Fury, while just as enraged and dangerous-looking as the one pinning down Hiccup, looked slightly different. Its face was a bit… rounded. As if the edges had been smoothened out. A female, perhaps?

Zenna didn’t have time to think anymore because the dragon was already opening its mouth, exposing two rows of dagger-like teeth.

_‘Odin, have mercy on me and Hiccup…’_ thought Zenna, bracing for the blast that would take her straight to Elias.

An ear-splitting roar was what hit her instead. It was almost a shriek, bloodcurdlingly loud, that made her insides turn to mush. Then the Night Fury left, flying after the other one. Zenna stayed down, breathing hard, listening to the sharp cries the two dragons were making until they disappeared altogether.

_‘Hiccup shot down a Night Fury and let it go. There’s another Night Fury out there… and we didn’t die… Holy Shields, how did we not die?’_ she thought, her vision darkening.

Beside her, she felt Hiccup’s body hit the ground. The poor guy had fainted.

And, after a second to relish in the fact that she and her best friend were still alive, so did Zenna.


	4. Got A Secret, Can You Keep It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Erland makes a deal with Hiccup and Zenna after seeing just how mad the two Viking teenagers are.

**Chapter 4: Got A Secret, Can You Keep It?**

“These two…” sighed Loki as he walked towards the unconscious bodies. Hiccup was lying on his stomach, completely dead to the world, while Zenna was beginning to stir.

Slipping back into Erland, Loki approached Zenna first. “Oh dear, are you dead?” he asked sarcastically and lightly nudged the girl’s shoulder with his foot.

“No…” Zenna moaned, opening her amethyst eyes.

“Good. Now,” Erland gestured to Hiccup. “wake him up.”

Zenna huffed but she got up. She went over to Hiccup and turned him over onto his back. “Okay, Hicc. Come on, rise and shine!” she said loudly, patting the boy’s cheek.

Hiccup’s eyes flew open and he sat upright, screaming, “Oh, my gods! Why did I do that?! What have I done?!” at such a high pitch that Erland and Zenna covered their ears.

“I have to say, you two are the luckiest and the most insane pair of Vikings I’ve ever met,” Erland remarked.

Hiccup and Zenna both paled dramatically. “You _saw_?” they squeaked out.

“You,” Erland pointed a long finger at Hiccup. “had one of this island’s biggest threats in your grasp, but you let it go,” he told him then cocked his head as if he were a puppy seeing something for the first time.

_“Why?”_

Hiccup tensed, looking down, his auburn bangs covering his eyes. “I…” he mumbled, trailing off.

Erland sighed. “Oh, well, I’m sure you’ve got your reasons.” He shrugged lightly then turned to head back to the village.

“Wait a minute,” Zenna piped up. “Erland, were you following us?” she questioned.

Erland gave her a cool look over his shoulder. “Yes. But don’t think it’s because I was worried about you two,” he said quietly.

_‘Haha, lies! You were genuinely concerned,’_ his mind taunted him.

Zenna rolled her eyes, seeing that the icy mask Erland sometimes wore had slipped back on. She and Hiccup followed him anyway, all three of them lost in their thoughts. Then she remembered. “There was another Night Fury,” she whispered.

“Probably the other one’s mate,” Erland said then stopped, eyes fixed on something lying in the grass.

Hiccup and Zenna stepped closer and saw, to their horror, a mangled black tailfin. Flecks of blood stained the grass around it. The smell of torn flesh lingered in the air.

“I tore off its tailfin…” Hiccup murmured, feeling sick.

“That explains the lopsided way that Night Fury was flying. I imagine it won’t be able to get very far now that it only has one tailfin,” Erland mused.

Zenna then asked the critical question. “Are you going to tell on us?” she narrowed her eyes at Erland.

“You make it sound like I’m going to tattle on you two as if you’re children who got caught with their hands in the cookie jar,” Erland scoffed. A smirk twitched at his lips. “But I won’t.”

Hiccup sighed with relief then looked at Erland expectantly. “So, what’s the catch?”

“Ah, yes, the price needed to buy my silence…” Erland practically purred, putting a hand to his chin. He grinned. “I want you two to do all of my chores at Gothi’s for a month.”

“Aw, come on. A _month_?” Hiccup whined.

“You two want to keep this whole incident under wraps, that is my price,” Erland told him and turned around, looking at the two over his shoulder. “Oh, and I want my boots oiled once a week,” he added.

“Fine,” Zenna said, gritting her teeth. As if her own workload at Gothi’s wasn’t heavy enough. Now she and Hiccup had to wait on Erland hand and foot. _Wonderful._

“Come along then,” Erland said, taking the lead. He turned away from Hiccup and Zenna, letting himself get lost in his musings.

He had seen everything, had heard everything, and yet he still couldn’t understand.

And if there was one thing Loki couldn’t stand, it was not understanding something.

Hiccup had the Night Fury tied up and had even taken away its ability to fly on its own. He had been hoping to finally kill a dragon and win his father and his village’s approval but, in the end, he didn’t.

_‘Why would he suddenly change his mind?’_ thought Erland as he looked over his shoulder. Hiccup stared at his boots as he walked, eyebrows furrowed and lips frowning. The boy looked just as confused as he was.

_‘He’s definitely an odd one, that’s for sure,’_ Erland thought to himself then looked at Zenna. The Fiersome girl’s eyes kept darting from left to right as if she were expecting one of the Night Furies to come out of nowhere. Every now and then, she would glance at Hiccup worriedly and squeezed his hand whenever it brushed against hers. _‘She’s so overprotective of Hiccup,’_ he mused but didn’t say a word when Zenna caught him looking at her.

The trio arrived at the village shortly. The sun was already halfway up to its highest point and Vikings hustled and bustled about.

“See you two later. From what I remember, Gothi’s making me clean out the fireplace,” Erland said cheerfully.

Zenna rolled her eyes at him while Hiccup just shrugged, then the three of them went their separate ways.

“Well?” Gothi asked her young ward as he stepped inside. Loki raised an eyebrow, sliding into a chair, and the elder chuckled as she brought forward gruel and berries.

“Word on the street is that Hiccup shot down a Night Fury. Did he?” Gothi clarified, sitting down to eat.

Loki deliberately swallowed his spoonful of gruel slowly, weighing the pros and cons of telling the old lady. On one hand, he had promised to keep it a secret. On the other hand, Gothi never talked in public so the probability of her spilling the beans was small. He could lie. Maybe, unlike last time, she wouldn’t be able to see through his deception.

“The dragon escaped. The only thing we found in the woods were the remains of the bola Hiccup used to shoot it down,” said Loki, popping a berry into his mouth.

Gothi hummed, taking a sip of her tea. “Dear me, that’s too bad,” she murmured.

If Loki paid closer attention, he would have seen a faint smile on Gothi’s lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, yes, taking advantage of the fact that there's a secret to be kept in order to get free labor. Classic Loki behavior. And, yes, I totally pinched the chapter title from that Pretty Little Liars song.
> 
> Please leave a comment and let me know what you think ;)


	5. Axes to Grind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This combines a deleted scene from the first film called "Axe to Grind" with the scene shown after Hiccup freed Toothless. I thought it'd be a good idea to mix them together, show some more interaction between Hiccup and Gobber, and give my fellow Hiccstrid shippers something to love.

**Chapter 5: Axes to Grind**

“ _What?_ ”

That was all Zenna could say when her parents told her that they were embarking on another hunt for the nest. Edgar and Henna looked at each other, guilt clear on their faces.

“I’m sorry, love. But the chief has ordered us to join him,” said Edgar, his curly hair hanging low over his eyes.

“But those search parties almost never come back. And Dad’s usually the only one who goes,” Zenna said, already panicking at the thought of her parents embarking on a suicide mission.

“Stoick is getting desperate. He says one more search before the ice sets in.” Henna went over to Zenna and gave her a hug, which her daughter gladly melted into. “Don’t worry, darling. Your father and I will be careful,” she reassured Zenna.

Zenna looked up at her mother. “I don’t want you two to go,” she pleaded. She had already lost Elias. She didn’t want to lose her Mom and Dad, too…

“Zenna…” Edgar joined in the hug, his strong arms encircling both his wife and his daughter. “Sometimes we have to follow orders we don’t want to follow. As much as we don’t want to, your mother and I both have a duty to Stoick. He’s our chief after all,” he told Zenna gently.

Zenna huffed. _‘Some chief he is. Neglecting his own son and sending his people on dangerous dragon nest searches. And if it hadn’t been for him, maybe Eli would still be here,’_ she thought to herself, the old fire of resentment flickering to life in her heart.

Henna pulled Zenna closer to her, mother’s intuition picking up on her daughter’s distress. “We won’t be gone for long, sweetheart. And we will come back, promise,” she murmured.

Zenna looked up at her parents, biting her lip, before finally sighing, “Okay…”

Edgar smiled and ruffled her hair. “That’s our girl,” he said, then his smile dropped. “Before your mother and I start packing, there’s… something else we need to tell you.”

Zenna cocked her head, curious. “What’s that, Dad?” she asked.

Taking a deep breath, Edgar placed his hands on Zenna’s shoulders. “Dragon training. You’ll start tomorrow,” he said.

Zenna suddenly felt like she had swallowed an iron ball. “Do I have to?” she asked quietly.

“Hiccup will be joining the new recruits, too, love,” Henna chimed in.

_‘No doubt against his will,’_ thought Zenna, hoping her parents didn’t notice how pale she had become. The events at Raven Point replayed in her head and she had the sinking feeling that, after what happened, her best friend would never be able to kill a dragon, much less try again.

Great. First, she and Hiccup have to be Erland’s servants for a month. Next, her parents get called up to join a suicide mission. Now, she and Hiccup have to enter dragon training.

“Do I _really_ need to go?” she asked, wringing her hands. The sticks on her back suddenly felt like they weighed a hundred pounds.

Edgar and Henna looked to each other, eyebrows raised. Their daughter always went with Hiccup and would jump at any chance to spend time with the boy. Wherever, whenever, and whatever, it was commonplace to find their daughter and Stoick’s son together. But this… something felt different.

“Chief’s orders, sweetheart. And we’ve already signed you up,” Henna sighed, her heart clenching at the horrified expression on Zenna’s face.

The sticks strapped to Zenna’s back began to feel heavier. She felt like they dragging her down to the floor, making her take a step back. “Alright, if I must. You two… should get packing. Just holler if you need my help,” she mumbled before racing up the stairs to her room.

“Odin’s beard, we shouldn’t have done this.” Edgar pinched the bridge of his nose in vexation just as he and his wife heard a door slam.

“I swear… If we come back and she’s hurt in some way… Oh, Stoick better sleep with one eye open,” Henna muttered, shaking her head before she and her husband hastened to pack.

Zenna tossed her sticks to one side, breathing out as the weight vanished. Lying down on her bed, she put her hands to her face and let out a frustrated sigh.

A dragon had killed her brother. Just over an hour ago, a dragon had spared her.

Hiccup wanted to be a dragon killer. Just over an hour ago, he let one go.

Her parents supported her becoming a healer and not a warrior. Now, they wanted her to learn how to be one.

The world was starting to no longer make sense.

* * *

In the forge, a blacksmith and his apprentice were hard at work. Gobber watched his apprentice abuse the bellows, pumping on them till the fire was nice and hot. Hiccup put a pot filled with iron to heat and wiped the sweat off his brow.

“Ah, don’t take it to heart, lad,” said Gobber as Hiccup poured the now molten iron into the sword mold. “it’s his job to be tough on everyone.”

“I’m not everyone!” Hiccup snapped, putting the pot and tongs he had used to hold them into a trough of ice water. “But, it doesn’t matter…” he sighed, watching the steam rise.

Gobber hummed and inspected the sword mold before tossing it into an ice-filled tray. The boy needed to vent. Might as well let him do it in the forge where he had an ear willing to listen, which just so happened to be him.

“The guy is impossible to please,” Hiccup muttered, putting away a pair of tweezers and reaching for the rack of tools nearby.

“He just doesn’t want to appear to be playing favorites,” Gobber told him, still managing to find a way to explain the Chief’s actions. Although, sometimes he had to agree with Zenna’s parents that Stoick’s parenting style was… well, flawed. Then again, everyone has flaws.

“He’s covered in that department, believe me,” Hiccup snorted, running to the anvil to clean it as Gobber began to take the now cooled mold out of the ice. “If I didn’t live in the same house with him, I wouldn’t even know he was my father,” he confessed.

Honestly, Hiccup wondered how on earth he could even be related to his dad sometimes. He looked nothing like him. _‘Maybe I look more like Mom,’_ he thought, his eyes suddenly stinging. Frustrated, he shook his head. What was the point of remembering someone he would never see again?

Gobber slammed the sword down onto the anvil. “Have you told him that?” he questioned, holding out his hook hand.

“Of course not!” Hiccup said, switching the hook with a hammer. “We barely even make eye contact,” he added.

Gobber chuckled. “You remember what we talked about earlier this morning?” he asked rhetorically.

“Of course,” Hiccup said dryly as he sharpened one of the armory’s old swords. “And, frankly, Gobber, your motivational speaking needs improvement.”

“I’m just saying,” Gobber finished hammering out the sword. “There’s the Viking way and then there’s your way,” he said and pointed at Hiccup with his hammer arm. “and your way makes grown men uncomfortable.”

Hiccup rolled his eyes. When was anyone ever _not_ uncomfortable with him using his brain? Briefly, he wondered what it would be like to live in a more civilized society. The Greeks apparently had it good, with their philosophers and democratic government. A place where brains were better than brawn, that’s the kind of place he felt like he could belong in. But of course, he just had to have the worst luck in the world to be born into a Viking tribe, where only the strong can belong.

“Speaking of uncomfortable,” he said, pushing aside his thoughts of philosophers and civilized people. “I’d like a new conversation, please.”

“All right.” Gobber’s smile was absolutely _devious._ “How’s it going with the ladies?” he asked nonchalantly, grinning as Hiccup’s face went red.

“Oh yeah, way to get the mood back on,” huffed Hiccup.

“Oh, c’mon. I’ve seen the way you look at Astrid,” Gobber told him, a knowing smirk on his face.

The mere mention of the divine beauty’s name was enough to make Hiccup turn as red as a tomato. “Please, Astrid wouldn’t come near me if she was on fire and I had the only bucket of water in town,” he scoffed before a lovely voice, really, he could liken it to a choir of angels singing, came from behind him.

“Hey, can I get this sharpened?”

“ _Astrid!_ ” Hiccup spun around to find Astrid Hofferson standing in front of the smithy, looking as fierce and beautiful as ever, with her trusty battle-ax slung over her shoulders. “Hi, Astrid. Hello there. Welcome. What can I do—“ he stuttered before Astrid threw her ax down on the table, a look of disinterest on her face.

_‘All business, this lass…’_ thought Gobber then smiled. “Of course, lass. My _manly_ apprentice here will service all of your needs,” he said, pushing Hiccup forward, ignoring the boy’s mortified look.

Astrid merely looked at the duo, stone-faced.

Sensing the awkwardness, Gobber said, “I have to go… get some… I’m just gonna go outside, eh?” and grabbed a few nails and a hammer before leaving.

Hiccup resisted the urge to facepalm then looked at Astrid, smiling sheepishly. “Gobber,” he chuckled, shaking his head.

Astrid looked completely uninterested. Sighing, Hiccup grabbed her ax and prayed to the gods he wouldn’t say anything else stupid before half-dragging, half-lifting it to the grindstone. “Okay, razor-sharp battle-ax, coming right up,” he said, putting the weapon to the stone.

Sparks flew from the iron as the ax was sharpened.

“Careful! That’s my mother’s,” Astrid warned Hiccup, coming into the stall to get a closer look at the swords.

A few moments of comfortable silence passed between the two of them until Hiccup spoke. “So, I saw you guys on fire patrol last night. Looked like a good time,” he remarked, smiling awkwardly only to drop it once he saw that Astrid wasn’t even looking at him.

Astrid hummed a little in agreement. “I didn’t get burned though,” she said.

“And that’s a bad thing?” Hiccup asked, confused.

“No, but it would have been nice to get a scar out of it.”

“Eh, Zen wouldn’t agree with you. She hates getting burns.”

“Well, that’s because she says that they’re a pain to treat.”

“Finding all the right herbs to treat burns _is_ kind of hard.”

“I saw her and Erland here last night.” Astrid turned her attention to the maces. “They were a pretty good team, making sure the dragons didn’t burn this place down,” she remarked.

Hiccup nodded, his eyes going back and forth between Astrid and the ax he was currently sharpening. “Yeah, they’re pretty tough,” he said, smiling a bit. Zenna, as he already knew, was a capable fighter. Erland as well. He felt pretty lucky to have those two teaching him how to fight.

“Have you been training with them?” Astrid asked, her tone suddenly sounding like she was interested.

“Ah, yeah! Yeah, we’ve been sparring almost every afternoon.” Hiccup winced, remembering the workouts Erland made him do.

“That’s great! So I take it that things between you three are fine now?” Astrid glanced at him, looking away before emerald green orbs made contact with her sky blue ones.

“What do you— _Oh!_ Y-You mean when Erland was avoiding me and Zen? Yeah, e-everything’s good. Erland, he-he just had some stuff he needed to deal with on his own,” Hiccup replied, feeling giddy. He and Astrid were actually having a conversation!

“I heard you three took down a whole gang of thugs too.” Astrid now looked at Hiccup, curious.

Hiccup blushed, keeping his eyes on the ax. It was almost fully sharpened…

“Yeah, but… it was purely dumb luck we made it out of there alive,” he mumbled.

Astrid regarded him with something that closely resembled awe. “Wow… That’s… I mean, I haven’t heard of you beating somebody in a fight since…” she said.

“Since those thugs beat up Zenna after Elias died. I know,” Hiccup murmured, eyes growing sad at the memory.

He could still remember the horrible sight of Zenna lying on the ground, barely conscious and bleeding, while a group of guys older than her beat her senseless. And that had been when his best friend was still depressed after Elias’ death, making her almost unreachable. It was bad enough she’d been emotionally hurt, she’d been physically hurt too.

Hiccup felt his stomach roil at the memory, a burning hot rage suddenly filling his bones that made him want to kick something which he quickly clamped down. He’d discovered a hidden strength within him on that day. But it wasn’t the kind of strength he wanted to have.

The strength that possessed him that day to defend Zenna and attack those thugs who had hurt her had been borne out of his fierce will to protect the Fiersome girl, yes. But that strength had quickly turned from noble to _animalistic_ with the way he drew his small dagger and slashed at the thugs’ faces. His ugly side had emerged. And he’d let it loose again two days ago when Erland had gotten hurt.

“It’s… not something I’m proud of, believe me,” he told Astrid who looked at him with an unreadable expression.

“Okay…” Astrid could tell that the conversation needed to be steered towards something less personal for the chief’s son and looked away. Then she spotted a doorway hidden behind a curtain.

Hiccup noticed and panicked, accidentally denting her ax’s blade. Quick as a flash, he found a suitable replacement and fixed the weapon while Astrid drew the curtain back.

“What is all of this?” Her eyes swept over the small nook filled with drawings and half-finished contraptions.

“Oh, those? Nothing. Just some stuff I’m working on,” Hiccup replied, rubbing the back of his neck. He never thought that one day he would be showing his crush his private workspace while on duty. He didn’t know whether to thank the gods or curse himself for it.

Astrid went inside and looked at the drawings. _‘I’ve never seen anything like this before…’_ she thought, slightly impressed. While the contraptions didn’t make much sense to her, Astrid found Hiccup’s diagrams of them to be well-detailed. She spotted a sketch of Zenna on the little worktable in the corner and picked it up. It was a simple sketch of Zenna sitting at the docks, watching the boats. But Hiccup had obviously put a lot of care into capturing the relaxed look on the Fiersome girl’s face.

Astrid’s mind flashed back to all of the times she saw Hiccup and Zenna hanging out, the two of them laughing and talking, and she suddenly felt like her stomach was being squeezed. Astrid put the sketch back on the table then picked up another drawing, one of Hiccup’s inventions this time.

“ _The Mutilator_ ,” she read the title.

Hiccup was sharpening the new blade he’d fitted into the handle when he heard her. “Yeah. It uses twin-weighted counter-levers to launch crisscrossing blades in four different directions,” he explained.

“How do you hold it?” Astrid’s voice came from the back of the workshop.

“You don’t. You shoot it.”

“Oh… Well, I’m more of an old-fashioned ‘take it down with an ax and then lop off its head’ kind of girl.” There was a small tinkle coming from the back and Hiccup briefly wondered if Astrid had started playing with one of his inventions. “It’s kind of the Viking way, right?” she asked.

“Go Vikings…” Hiccup sarcastically cheered just as Astrid emerged from his private nook.

“I can’t wait to get started tomorrow. We finally get a chance to show them what we’ve got. I’m so excited!” Astrid was practically beaming.

Hiccup awkwardly said, “Yeah, I-I’m so excited for you.” Just as he finished sharpening the ax. Hopefully, Astrid couldn’t tell the difference…

“What, you didn’t hear?” Astrid looked at him, slightly surprised. When Hiccup shrugged, she said, “They’re pulling men to crew the ships.”

“And you’re happy because you… uh… like to wave goodbye?” Hiccup asked her, completely confused.

“No, stupid. They need replacements to defend the town.” Astrid grabbed a small dagger off the workbench, touching the tip, then set it down. “We start training in the morning! We’ll be fighting dragons!” she said, pumped up.

Hiccup felt his blood run cold.

Oh Thor, if the teens were going to enter dragon training tomorrow then that meant that his father had, once again, organized another hunt for the dragons’ nest. And it looked like the new search was going to require all hands on deck, which meant that a new batch of recruits was to join Gobber’s dragon killing program.

Oh gods, did that mean _Zenna_ was going to have to join? Was _he_ going to have to join?

Before he could even ask Astrid, Hiccup heard the other teens calling her over. He gulped when Astrid’s excited demeanor changed back into her no-nonsense one and she held out her hand for her ax. He handed it back to her, praying that she wouldn’t notice anything off.

“This feels different,” Astrid remarked as she tested her ax’s weight in her hand.

Hiccup took a nanosecond to glance at the grindstone’s stand where he had hidden the ruined blade. “Oh, I rebalanced it. Tightened it up. Uh… finessed it. We’re a full-service outfit in here,” he rambled, hoping she wouldn’t call his bluff.

To his relief, Astrid merely said, “Thanks.”

“Sure,” Hiccup replied and smiled a little when he saw the corners of Astrid’s lips turn slightly up. He watched her leave with the others, wishing that he could go with them. Then he changed his mind when the gang started talking.

“I hope I get some serious scars out of this!” Snotlout shouted.

“I know, like a jagged one across your cheek!” Ruffnut butted in.

“Yeah, or right through my eye!” Tuffnut chimed in.

“Do those guys have a death wish?” Hiccup grumbled to himself then perked up when he saw Zenna pass by the stall.

“Hey, Zen!” He waved to his best friend.

Zenna looked back and waved. But there was something… off. She looked pale, which immediately sent alarm bells ringing in the back of Hiccup’s mind. “Hey, Hicc! I’m going over to Gothi’s. No need to come with me. I can do all of Erland’s chores on my own for today. See you!” she said quickly then power-walked away.

“Okay…” Hiccup mumbled, surprised at how much of a hurry Zenna was in. Then he tensed and ducked down into the stall when his father passed by on his way to the docks.

Remembering what happened back at Raven Point, Hiccup made a mental note to avoid his dad for the rest of the day.

At least until things had cooled down…

* * *

“ _Hiccup._ ”

‘ _Damn it,_ ’ thought Hiccup, pausing from crawling up the stairs. He’d done a pretty good job avoiding his father the entire day. He honestly thought he could get past him later that night.

The gods really _did_ hate him.

“Dad! Uh… I have to talk to you, Dad,” Hiccup began, giving up and standing up to face his father.

“I need to speak to you too, son.” Stoick’s beard had a ruddy sheen in the firelight. Taking a deep breath, father and son spoke at the same time.

“I’ve decided I don’t want to fight dragons.”

“I think it’s time you learn how to fight dragons.”

There was a pregnant pause. A beat… then…

“ _What?_ ”

“You go first,” Stoick offered.

“No, no, _you_ go first,” Hiccup insisted.

“Alright.” Stoick looked into his son’s eyes, face serious. “You get your wish. Dragon training. You start in the morning.”

“Oh, man, I should have gone first!” Hiccup said, panicking. “Uh, ‘cause I was thinking, you know, we have a surplus of dragon-fighting Vikings, but do we have enough… _bread-making Vikings_? Or small home repair Vikings?” he blabbered, already dreading the inevitable end to what promised to be a one-sided conversation.

“You’ll need this,” Stoick grunted, passing Hiccup an old ax of his from his training days. To his surprise, Hiccup didn’t fall over like he used to. It seemed that all those days hauling weapons with Gobber were beginning to produce results.

“I don’t want to fight dragons,” Hiccup said lamely.

Stoick laughed. “Come on. Yes, you do,” he told him.

“Rephrase,” Hiccup said, already grasping at straws. “Dad, I _can’t_ kill dragons!”

“But you _will_ kill dragons,” Stoick said, trying to instill some confidence in his boy.

“No, I’m really very extra sure that I won’t,” Hiccup countered, remembering a certain Night Fury with a missing tailfin.

“It’s time, Hiccup,” Stoick said standing up.

“Can you not hear me?!” Hiccup exclaimed but stopped when his father drew himself up to his full height.

“This is serious, son!” Stoick’s eyes bore into Hiccup’s, alight with that chiefly presence he possessed and wielded so well. “When you carry this ax, you carry all of us,” he told Hiccup, laying a hand on the ax in his son’s hands. “Which means you walk like us. You talk like us. You think like us. No more of… _this._ ” He gestured to Hiccup’s scrawny frame.

Hiccup scowled. “You just gestured to all of me,” he pointed out.

“Deal?” Stoick asked him.

“This conversation is feeling very one-sided.”

“ _Deal?!_ ”

Shoulders slumping in defeat, Hiccup looked up at his dad and said, “Deal.”

“Good.” Stoick nodded and put on his helmet, shouldering on a rucksack. “Train hard. I’ll be back. Probably,” he said, heading out to check on the supplies. The search party would set out tomorrow at first light.

“And I’ll be here. Maybe,” Hiccup muttered as the door swung open, his father leaving, then shut.

Throwing the ax to the side, Hiccup stomped up to his loft. Flopping down onto the stiff wooden board that was his bed, Hiccup buried his face into his pillow and _screamed._

The gods didn’t just hate him. They _despised_ him.


	6. Welcome to Dragon Training

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Hiccup and Zenna enter Dragon Training, and Erland discovers that he might not be so powerless as he originally thought.

**Chapter 6: Welcome to Dragon Training**

“The presence of a god at the beginning of a sea voyage is always a good thing to have. The wind in their sails will always blow fast and true if a god is present at the harbor,” Gothi said, polishing the bones hanging off her staff.

“You do remember that I’m the God of _Mischief_ , right?” asked Loki as he stifled another yawn. For the life of him, he had no idea why he had to accompany the elder in seeing the ships off. He didn’t have anyone to say goodbye to, after all.

Gothi stroked the wispy hairs on her chin. “True,” she said then shrugged. “But a god’s still a god either way. Now hurry up. We need to be there before they finish loading up the ships,” she said, already heading out the door.

Letting out a yawn, Loki assumed his Erland persona and followed her.

* * *

Hiccup sighed as he watched his father load the last of the supplies onto the final ship. Their goodbyes had been nothing short of awkward, even with Gobber acting as the unofficial translator of their awkward glances.

Instead of dwelling on those failed moments of father-son rapport, Hiccup turned his attention to the other families at the docks. He felt his heart sink at the sight of a young boy hugging his father, the older man ruffling his son’s hair while his wife held a baby girl to her breast. Every time an expedition set out, there was always the fear of never seeing a loved one return. Many a morning had Hiccup woken up to the wails of a brokenhearted family who had learned that their husband, wife, sister, brother, daughter, son, or another family relation had died in the search for the Nest. It never got easier to see those anguished faces mixed in with the weary, no matter how many search parties were sent out.

Hiccup felt his heart drop all the way into his stomach the moment he saw Zenna embracing her parents. He walked over to the Fiersome family, making sure to keep a respectful distance. Part of him wanted to run to his father and beg him to let Zen’s parents stay behind while the other part knew that there was nothing he could do to change his dad’s mind.

“No messing around with my loom, love. I’ve got a tapestry that still needs finishing. And remember to clean the house every day after training,” Henna reminded, shouldering on a rucksack.

“Yes, Mom.” Zenna nodded, smiling.

“And no parties, you hear?” Edgar added with a grin.

Zenna glanced at Hiccup. “So, no sleepovers with Hiccup?” she asked, giving her father the puppy-dog eyes.

Edgar looked at Zenna, with her violet eyes now widened to begging size, then at Hiccup, who shyly waved, before looking at Zenna again. A small whimper from his daughter had him caving in. “Alright. Sleepovers are allowed. But! No more than three people, including you. Got that, Zen?” he said, trying and failing to put on a stern face.

“Got it, Dad!” Zenna said and saluted him.

Smiling warmly, Edgar held out his arms. Zenna grinned, knowing just what her father wanted. She jumped up, letting her father catch her by the waist, and squealed with childlike glee as he spun her around like he used to when she was a tiny girl.

“My precious little gemstone,” Edgar murmured, kissing Zenna’s cheeks, and pulling Henna into a family hug.

Zenna melted into her parents’ embrace. “Come back to me in one piece, you two,” she whispered, hugging her parents tightly.

“We will, love.” Henna tilted Zenna’s chin up. “Now get out there and do your best in training,” she said softly, a small sad smile on her lips.

Nodding, Zenna waved goodbye to her parents as they boarded a ship.

“Hiccup!” Edgar waved to Stoick’s son. “You and our girl take care!” he hollered.

“Will do, Mr. Fiersome!” Hiccup hollered back. He raised an eyebrow at Zenna who shrugged in resignation. Looks like they were both going to have to suffer Gobber’s tutelage in dragon training.

Gothi and Erland arrived, the latter stepping back as the former began to go to each ship. Knocking her staff against each hull, Gothi silently asked for the gods to bless the voyage. After this, she stood at the center of the harbor and waved her staff in the direction of the sea.

It was time.

“Take care, loves!” Henna waved to Hiccup and Zenna as the boats launched out of the harbor. Hiccup, Zenna, and other villagers waved goodbye as the ships sailed through the calm waters, leaving the safety of Berk’s shores and growing smaller and smaller until they disappeared into the horizon.

As soon as the ships were gone, Hiccup and Zenna looked at each other.

“You too?” asked Hiccup.

“I don’t really have much of a choice,” Zenna sighed, shrugging. But she smiled and clapped Hiccup on the back. “But, hey, at least we’ll be fighting for our lives together,” she said with a laugh.

“You know, Zen, sometimes I truly envy your optimism. You wouldn’t mind if I could borrow some of it, would you?” Hiccup chuckled as they left the harbor to go to the arena.

Erland watched the duo go, debating in his head whether to follow them or not. A tug on the sleeve made him look down and he saw Gothi smiling. She waved her staff in the direction of the two teens and nodded.

Smiling a bit, Erland said, “Thanks,” and followed Hiccup and Zenna.

Along the way, he stopped by a fruit stall to buy three large red apples.

He might as well have something to munch on while watching what was sure to be a disaster.

* * *

“Welcome to Dragon Training!” Gobber announced, lifting the heavy iron-barred gate to the arena.

Astrid squared her shoulders. “No turning back,” she said quietly as she, Fishlegs, Ruffnut and Tuffnut, and Snotlout entered.

Constructed on a rocky outcropping over the frigid sea, the killing arena was a sacred place amongst the Berkians. It was here where young Vikings entered as inexperienced warriors and trained to fight against the dragon scourge that plagued the entire Barbaric Archipelago. Viking teens who entered this hallowed training ground then emerged as men and women ready to fight for Berk.

Today, Astrid and her merry band of followers hoped to do the same.

“I hope I get some serious burns!” Tuffnut grinned like a maniac.

“I’m hoping for some mauling, like on my shoulder or my lower back,” Ruffnut said in agreement.

“Yeah, it’s only fun if you get a scar out of it,” Astrid said, pushing her bangs away to one side.

“Yeah, no kidding, right?” A nasally voice dripping with sarcasm piped up.

Turning around, the teens saw Hiccup and Zenna come in.

“Pain. Love it.” Hiccup’s face was devoid of any excitement as he held onto his dad’s battle ax.

The other teens rolled their eyes. “Oh, great. Who let _him_ in?” Tuffnut whined then froze like a deer in headlights as Zenna moved to stand beside Hiccup, amethyst eyes glaring at them all. The message was clear.

_You give Hiccup a hard time, you’re dead._

Before Zenna had a chance to glare the other teens into submission, Gobber hollered, “Let’s get started!” and joined them. “The recruit who does best will win the honor of killing his first dragon in front of the entire village,” he announced.

“Hiccup already killed a Night Fury, so does that disqualify him or…?” Snotlout asked mockingly, making the Twins laugh while Fishlegs, after hesitating a little, smiled.

“Can I transfer to the class with the _cool_ Vikings?” Tuffnut requested, making Astrid roll her eyes.

Zenna scowled. While she hung out with the other teens, she wasn’t exactly close to them. Except for Astrid, but that all changed when she decided to focus more on becoming a shield-maiden.

Looking around, Zenna took notice of the shields and smirked. Her brother had passed on what he had learned in training, and she was going to use it.

A whistle grabbed her attention and she saw Erland sitting in the stands. The boy waved and took a bite out of an apple he held in his right hand.

Rolling her eyes, Zenna waved back and moved to stand with the other recruits.

Hiccup slowly walked to the line, Gobber flinging an arm over his shoulder. “Don’t worry. You’re small and you’re weak. That’ll make you less of a target! They’ll see you as sick or insane and go after the more Viking-like teens instead,” he reassured him and walked to the front of the class, missing the disbelieving look his apprentice gave him.

The huge iron doors of the cages scattered around the arena began to vibrate as the dragons inside them smelled fresh blood.

“Behind these doors are just a few of the many species you will learn to fight!” Gobber announced.

Fishlegs was bouncing on his toes with excitement, ready to spout off the statistics.

“The Deadly Nadder!” Gobber waved to one cage.

“Speed: eight; Armor: sixteen.” Fishlegs recited from memory.

“The Hideous Zippleback!”

“Plus eleven stealth times two.”

“The Monstrous Nightmare!”

“Firepower: fifteen.”

“The Terrible Terror!”

“Attack: eight; Venom: twelve!”

“Oh, would you shut up?!” Erland yelled at the exact same time Gobber shouted, “CAN YOU STOP THAT?!”

Hiccup and Zenna couldn’t help but smile a bit. It seemed that dislike for Fishlegs’ overenthusiasm with dragon statistics was a shared thing between blacksmith and newcomer.

Seeing that Fishlegs was now visibly cowed into silence, Gobber resumed with his lineup.

“And… the Gronckle!”

“Jaw Strength: eight,” Fishlegs whispered to Hiccup, unable to restrain himself.

As Gobber lumbered over to the Gronckle’s cage, Snotlout began to panic. “Whoa, whoa, wait! Aren’t you gonna teach us first?!” he asked, seeing that the blacksmith’s hand was already on the lever.

Gobber grinned. “I believe in learning on the job,” he said then pulled the lever.

“Oh shit.” Erland grinned as a mud-brown Gronckle buzzed out of the cage, scattering the teens. He sat back, taking another bite out of his apple. This was going to be fun!

“Today is about survival. If you get blasted… _you’re dead!”_ Gobber said, watching the Gronckle swallow some rocks he’d placed in the pit. It wouldn’t be long now until those rocks were going to come back up as flaming projectiles. “Quick! What’s the first thing you’re going to need?” he asked his students.

Erland raised an eyebrow as Hiccup yelled out, “A doctor?!” Since when did the term ‘ _doctor_ ’ exist during this time period?

“Plus five speed?!” Fishlegs squeaked, clutching his hammer close to him like a security blanket.

Zenna was already rushing to the pile of shields lying around in one corner of the arena and picking out two for her and Hiccup when Astrid shouted, “A shield!”

“Shields! Go!” Gobber shouted.

Zenna gripped one shield and dashed over to Hiccup, handing the other shield to him. The other teens scrambled to get shields of their own as Gobber carried on. “Your most important piece of equipment is your shield! If you must make a choice between a sword or a shield, take the shield!” He approached a struggling Hiccup, helping him get a firm grip on his shield.

“Oh, dear Norns, those two are going to get killed…” Erland shook his head as he watched Ruffnut and Tuffnut have a tug-of-war match over who got the cooler shield with skulls and flames painted on it.

“Get your hands off my shield!” Tuffnut growled at Ruffnut who yanked on the shield he coveted.

“There’s like a million shields!” snarled Ruffnut as they continued to bicker.

“Take that one, it has a flower on it. Girls like flowers.” Tuffnut motioned to one shield lying in the pile. In response, Ruffnut ripped the shield out of her brother’s hands and slammed it onto his head.

“Oops, now this one has blood on it,” Ruffnut said, pretending to hand over the shield, only for Tuffnut to grab it and resume their tug-of-war. They were so busy arguing that neither of them noticed the Gronckle until it was too late.

“Damn, that was a nice shot. Right in the shield’s center,” Erland commented as a lava blast knocked the shield away and left Ruffnut and Tuffnut in a daze.

“Tuffnut, Ruffnut, you’re out!” Gobber told the two Thorstons.

“What?” Ruffnut and Tuffnut looked dazed for a minute. When they saw the Gronckle hovering close by, they yelped and made a run for it.

“Great pranksters, but not so great at following commands,” Erland sighed, seeing that his disciples were now out of the game.

Zenna was running around the arena, a shield in her left hand and one of her sticks in her right. She furiously beat her stick against her shield and the walls of the arena as Gobber instructed, “Those shields are good for another thing: noise! Make lots of it to throw off a dragon's aim!” before ducking behind a wooden weapons rack propped up against a wall.

Erland nodded in approval at the young Fiersome’s smarts. Then he frowned as he watched the remaining teens surround the Gronckle and beat their weapons against their shields. The Gronckle growled and shook its head.

**_“Arrggh! What’s going on? Ack! I can’t… why’s everything all a blur?”_ **

****

_‘A female. That’s certainly a surprise,’_ thought Erland then winced as the Gronckle continued to shake her head, hovering in the center of the circle in a bewildered daze. He could only imagine the discomfort the poor thing was in right now.

“All dragons have a limited number of shots. How many does a Gronckle have?” Gobber asked, making the teens pause from their noisemaking.

“Five?” guessed Snotlout.

“No, six!” Fishlegs shouted, raising his shield up.

“Correct, six! That means one of you will survive!” Gobber said just as the Gronckle blasted Fishlegs’ shield right out of his hand. “Fishlegs, out.”

“Baby,” Erland sniffed as the chubby walking dragon encyclopedia ran off, screaming. He finished his apple and threw away the core.

Hiccup found a plank to hide behind, and he intended to follow Zenna’s example and stay hidden until the Gronckle ran out of shots.

“Hiccup, get in there!”

“Doesn’t hiding increase the chances for survival?!” Hiccup yelled at Gobber, exasperated, before sprinting away as the Gronckle advanced.

Snotlout, arrogant as ever, was trying to chat up Astrid. “So, anyway I'm moving into my parents' basement. You should come by sometime to work out. You look like you work out!” he told the Hofferson girl only to be ignored as Astrid somersaulted out of the Gronckle’s path.

“Your chances with her are zero, Jorgenson!” Erland jeered as the dragon fired on Snotlout.

“Snotlout! You’re done!”

Hiccup hoped he didn’t look stupid, a shield awkwardly slung onto his arm and his father’s battle-axe dragging on the ground, as Astrid vaulted over to his spot. “So, I guess it’s just you and me, huh?” he said to her.

“Nope, just you,” Astrid said curtly before running away and leaving him behind.

Before Hiccup could even say anything, a lava blast missed him by a hair. His shield was knocked out of his grasp and went rolling away.

“One shot left!” 

“No, no, no, don’t go after it!” Erland shot up to his feet as Hiccup chased after his runaway shield, the Gronckle hot on his heels.

Hiccup gulped as the Gronckle cornered him.

“Hiccup!” Gobber began to frantically hobble towards his apprentice.

At the same time, a memory from his distant childhood surfaced in Loki’s mind…

* * *

_Trembling as he was backed up against a wall, a seven-year-old Loki looked up at the trio of older boys armed with clubs. There was no way for him to escape. Not even his magic could help him as his fear was making him lose the focus he needed to wield it._

“Come now, friends. Can we not discuss our differences like civilized people?” _he managed to say before he was shoved back into the wall._

“Quiet, runt!” _the biggest of the boys yelled, spittle flying out of his mouth._ “It’s thanks to you that we made complete fools of ourselves during training today!”

_Loki blinked his big green eyes at them._ “What? Me?” _he asked, resisting the urge to smile even just a little._

“Yes, you! _You’re_ the one who greased the hilts of our swords, causing them to keep slipping out of our hands every time we sparred!” _Another boy shouted._

_Loki did his best to look innocent._ “My, someone must have gotten up early to do such a thing!” _he remarked then yawned. His gut seized up as he realized that he had just given himself away with that one yawn._

_The boys yelled at him and began to advance towards him. Loki gulped and braced for the blows to come when…_

“LEAVE MY BROTHER ALONE!”

_The boys all turned pale as a young Thor barreled over to them, shoving them aside to stand in front of Loki._

_Thor’s sky blue eyes were stormy as he glared at the bullies._ “Leave! NOW!” _he thundered, clenching his fists to the sides._

_Not wanting to instigate a brawl with the Crown Prince of Asgard, the three boys fled._

_Thor glared at their retreating figures before turning to Loki._ “Are you all right, Loki?” _he asked softly._

_Loki breathed a sigh of relief and ran over to Thor, throwing his arms around his big brother’s middle._ “I’m fine, Thor. Thank you,” _he whispered gratefully._

_Thor laughed and hoisted him onto his shoulders._ “I’ll always be here for you, Loki,” _he said, grinning._

“You swear?” _Loki looked at him curiously._

_Thor’s smile was as radiant as the sun._ “I swear,” _he promised as they headed back to the palace._

* * *

Eyes widening at the memory, Loki looked down and saw Hiccup backed up against the wall, the Gronckle preparing to fire its final shot.

Narrowing his eyes at the dragon, Loki imagined his thoughts to be a ball that he threw at the beast with all his might.

**_‘If you blast that boy’s head off, I will have your hide to make into belts and handbags, beast! LEAVE HIM!’_ **

****

Gobber stopped, jaw dropping open, as the Gronckle fired _above_ Hiccup’s head. The beast had the boy right in front of it, yet it misfired! What happened?

The Gronckle growled in confusion, looking around until her yellow eyes landed on Erland standing above and looking down into the arena. His hands were hanging limply at his sides and a stunned expression was on his face. The Gronckle growled, tilting her head.

**_“Was that you?”_ **

****

“It… worked…?” Erland whispered to himself, staring at the Gronckle, dumbfounded.

Taking advantage of the Gronckle’s distracted state, Gobber grabbed it with his hook hand. “And that’s six! Go back to bed, ya overgrown sausage!” he grunted as he tugged the dragon back into its cage and closed it.

“You’ll get another chance, don’t you worry,” he said to the rattling cage door.

Zenna peered out from behind the weapons rack and sprinted straight over to Hiccup. “Holy Shields, Hicc, I’m so sorry! I should have pulled you along into my hiding spot!” she apologized, frantically checking her best friend for injuries.

“I-It’s okay, Zen. I’m fine…” Hiccup mumbled, still trying to get his heart rate back to normal.

Gobber clapped his hands. “Ah, our lone survivor! Good job evading those blasts, Zenna!” he congratulated the young Fiersome, patting her on the back. “Although, I wouldn’t recommend hiding for too long. If the Gronckle had hovered near your hiding spot and caught your scent, you would have been dead!” he reminded her.

“Noted,” Zenna mumbled, blushing as the other teens looked at her in awe.

Gobber nodded to the other teens, waving them off. Walking over to Hiccup, he looked him in the eye and said, “Remember: a dragon will always, _always_ , go for the kill.”

Staring at the scorch mark on the wall, Hiccup wondered if his mentor was right. When he looked at Zenna, he could tell that she was wondering the exact same thing.

* * *

Erland was waiting for them at the entrance to the arena. “Oh good, you’re not dead,” he said, pulling two apples out of his satchel and tossing them to the two. “I was afraid I was going to have to do my chores by myself for the rest of the month.” He grinned.

Hiccup and Zenna just rolled their eyes at him. The three of them lapsed into comfortable silence, Hiccup and Zenna slowly eating their apples, as they headed for the woods.

Then Hiccup finished his and spoke. “That Gronckle misfired on purpose,” he said, getting Zenna and Erland’s attention.

“Maybe it was disoriented due to all the noise we were making,” Zenna piped up, biting into her apple.

“No. I got a good look at that dragon’s face. It looked ready to kill me. Something must have startled it.” Hiccup put a hand to his chin, stroking an imaginary beard that wasn’t there. “But _what_ could have spooked a dragon so much into missing a target that was right in front of it?” he wondered aloud.

Zenna looked up, thinking as well, while Erland put his hands behind his back.

“Maybe you just got lucky?” Erland mumbled, making Hiccup look at him.

For a moment, green stared into green. Then, Hiccup shrugged and sighed, “Maybe…” and the three of them lapsed back into silence once more.


	7. Enter the Dragon Whisperer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Erland gets to try his new powers on two Night Furies. Hiccup and Zenna plan a sleepover. And the Three Weirdos begin to bond.

**Chapter 7: Enter The Dragon Whisperer**

The ropes were still there, untouched since he had cut them off the Night Fury. Hiccup held up a piece and one of the bolas, his expression thoughtful. “So why didn’t you?” he muttered.

“Let’s go in the direction they flew off.” Zenna pointed to the distance. “We might be able to find them,” she suggested.

“And if we do, what then?” Erland raised an eyebrow as he fiddled with one of his daggers.

“Observe them from a distance, I guess. I mean, it’s not every day you see two Night Furies up close in person,” said Zenna, shrugging.

Hiccup tossed the rope and the bola aside, motioning for the two to follow him. They walked on until they reached the entrance to the cove. One by one they entered and stood at the edge of a large smooth upright boulder. Apart from the small pond, the trees, and the twittering of birds, there was nothing.

“Well, this was stupid,” muttered Hiccup.

A nudge from Zenna got him to look down at the ground, which was littered with several shiny black scales.

“Extraordinary…” Erland murmured, picking one up and examining it closely. The scale felt warm in his cold hands and was the color of jet.

Hiccup squatted to pick one up as well when Zenna suddenly shrieked, “Get down!” and pulled him and Erland down with her. There was a whoosh of air as a screaming black mass swooped past them, scrabbling at the rocks, before dropping down into the cove.

It took the trio to realize that it was the Night Fury with the missing tailfin. They watched it flop down on the ground after another attempt to fly. The other Night Fury was there too, growling softly as its partner picked itself up and got back on its feet.

**_“You alright?”_ **

****

“That one with the full set of fins is a female,” Erland blurted out, making Hiccup and Zenna look at him strangely.

**_“It’s useless, absolutely hopeless. Without my other tail fin, I’m nothing but an overgrown lizard.”_ **

****

“The downed one’s a male,” Erland whispered, pointing to the Night Fury Hiccup shot down.

“How can you tell?” Hiccup asked him, eyes wide.

Erland looked to the side and shrugged. “Simple observation. The contours of their bodies are different,” he explained.

Hiccup and Zenna looked at the two Night Furies again. Erland had a point. The Night Fury with a missing tailfin had an angular, rigid, form befitting a male. The other one was more rounded and curvy, feminine.

“They’re mates…” Zenna breathed out, staring at the two dragons in amazement.

Erland rolled his eyes at the obviousness and they crept forward to get a closer look. The male Night Fury was now trying and failing to catch some fish in the pond. His mate, after seeing him pull his head out of the water without a single catch, warbled to him softly and he moved out of the way.

Dunking her head in the water, the female Night Fury was still for a brief moment then sharply jerked her head up out of the water, a large fish held between her jaws.

“Awww, how sweet,” Zenna cooed, seeing the two dragons sharing the fish.

Hiccup took out his notebook and began to sketch. Noticing the missing tailfin on the male Night Fury, he felt his insides turn to lead as he erased the left tailfin on his drawing.

_‘Have I really crippled this dragon for life? What’s he going to do? He has a mate, maybe even a few babies to take care of, and I’ve taken away his ability to fly… Why am I even feeling guilty?’_ he thought to himself, not noticing that he was getting too close to the boulder’s edge.

Erland quickly pulled Hiccup back, the boy slipping and dropping his pencil, before he went over the edge. Unfortunately, the sound of Hiccup’s pencil clattering onto the ground below drew the Night Furies’ attention to them.

“Shoot…” Erland muttered under his breath while Zenna gave Hiccup her most exasperated look.

Silence reigned as the three humans and two dragons stared each other down.

Hiccup kept his eyes on the male, which curiously tilted his head at him.

Zenna focused on the female, a somewhat embarrassed smile on her face, while the dragoness narrowed her eyes and let out a soft mellow rumble.

Erland looked at both dragons, wondering if he should try talking to them, before deciding to get his two companions out of the cove before things took a turn for the worse.

“Let’s get out of here before they start shooting at us,” he said crisply, taking the two teens by the arm and gently pulling them up to their feet.

Zenna looked back at the two Night Furies. She couldn’t help herself. “Bye bye!” she waved as Erland guided her out of the cove, Hiccup right behind her.

Erland was the last to go. And he was surprised to hear the male speak to him.

**_“Who are you?”_ **

****

Looking into the Night Fury’s intelligent green eyes, Loki smirked. **_‘Who do you think I am?’_** he replied using his mind.

The stunned looks on both Night Furies’ faces were priceless.

**_“Serpent-Tongue…”_** the female growled, taking a step back. She and her mate were no fools. The aura of this dark-haired human was unnatural. The fact that he could send his thoughts to them, producing a sensation that was akin to having a block of ice suddenly pressed to their temples, made them wary.

Loki smiled, forest green eyes flashing. **_‘In the flesh.’_** He bowed with a flourish. **_‘And I suggest that you two get used to seeing those two kids you saw a moment ago. Something tells me that they’ll be coming here frequently,’_** he told the two dragons.

The male huffed. **_“Great. It’s bad enough that I’m grounded,_ _now I have to see that boy who shot me down every day,”_** he growled.

The female shrugged her wings. **_“It might not be so bad, Destin. They looked like nice kids,”_** she said. Then she lifted her right front paw and began to flick it back and forth, a puzzled frown on her face.

**_“Erika, what are you doing?”_** the male Night Fury, Destin, warbled.

**_“Trying to do that odd gesture the girl was making before she left. I think she called it a ‘bye bye,’ whatever that is…”_** Erika waved her front paw around. To Loki, it looked like she was trying to wipe down a window.

**_‘Well, I best be off!’_** Turning around, Loki waved to the two Night Furies. “Bye bye!”

**_“Aha! He did the thing, too! It must be a human’s way of saying goodbye!”_** Erika’s excited tone elicited a small chuckle from the Serpent Tongue as he left the cove.

* * *

Hiccup gagged upon smelling the remains of yak stew clinging to the bottom of Gothi’s old cauldron. “Good gods…” he muttered, tipping a bucket’s worth of hot, soapy water into the cauldron and using a brush made of fine boar’s bristles to scrub, the fiddly brown bits of leftover yak stew floating to the rapidly browning water’s surface.

Zenna wiped down the tables Gothi laid patients down for examinations, shooting Erland murderous looks as the boy lounged on a chair and helped himself to tea and biscuits.

“You know Gothi’s gonna kill you if she catches us doing _your_ chores,” Zenna pointed out, throwing down her stained cleaning rag on the table once she was done.

“Which is why I make sure to invite you two over when she’s out,” Erland retorted, popping another biscuit into his mouth.

Hiccup grunted as he struggled to lift the full cauldron up, intending to lug the heavy thing out onto the lift so he could head down and empty it into the ground.

“Hold on. I got it.” Erland got out of his chair and walked over to the scrawny heir. Both boys lifted the cauldron up and began to walk out the door.

“If you don’t mind, my room could use sweeping!” he told Zenna once he and Hiccup made it out of the doorway.

Huffing, Zenna grabbed a broom and headed up the loft. “Treating me like a servant… I take it back. He is _not_ handsome, at all! Not even the slightest!” she grumbled.

Once inside Erland’s room, Zenna furiously swept the dust bunnies out of the small space. Bending down to check under the bed, she noticed that the bottom left bedpost had scratches as if someone had taken a sword or a knife to the wood. But these weren’t random scratches.

_‘It’s like those figures Eli used to make on paper to count stuff with,’_ thought Zenna, tracing the neat row of scratches lining the post. She counted about 17 scratches before she heard Erland and Hiccup entering the hut.

It was only when she saw Erland again, helping Hiccup put the cauldron back on its hanging chain, did Zenna realize what the scratches on his bedpost were for.

* * *

The rain came down on Berk unexpectedly that night, drenching any unlucky Viking outside. Hair heavily soaked with rainwater and chilly, Hiccup, Zenna, and Erland trudged into the Great Hall where Gobber and the rest of the teens were having dinner.

“Alright. Where did Astrid go wrong in the ring today?” Gobber asked them.

“I mistimed my somersault dive. It was sloppy. It threw off my reverse tumble,” Astrid answered for herself, looking down at her plate. She usually executed her moves with ease. Maybe she shouldn’t have missed out on her morning stretches today…

“Yeah, we noticed,” Ruffnut said sarcastically. Honestly, somersault dives and reverse tumbles? Were those even legitimate battle moves?

“No, no, you were great. That was so ‘Astrid.’” Snotlout flexed his muscles, hoping to catch the Divine Beauty’s eye. Then he spotted Hiccup and smiled meanly, moving each time the runt tried to sit with them. It took a glare from Zenna and Erland unsheathing a dagger to get him to stay still.

“She’s right, you _have_ to be tough on yourselves,” Gobber reminded his students before adding, “Where did Hiccup go wrong?” wanting to make sure they wouldn’t make a repeat of the day’s mistakes during the next lesson.

“Uh, he showed up?” Ruffnut guessed.

“He didn’t get eaten,” Tuffnut added.

“He’s never where he should be,” Astrid said coldly, ignoring the murderous stare Zenna was giving her as she, Hiccup, and Erland sat down at a separate table. “And Zenna’s mistake was that she spent too much time hiding and following Hiccup around without making sure of her own safety.”

Hiccup quickly grabbed onto Zenna’s wrist before she could even make a move to get up.

“Ignore them, Zen. Hotheads who run their mouths often wind up dead,” Erland said sotto voce, side-eyeing the Fiersome girl.

Clenching her jaw, Zenna turned her back to Astrid and began to aggressively cut up her chicken.

“Thank you, Astrid,” Gobber said, relieved that a shouting match had been avoided, before limping around the other teens’ table. “You need to live and breathe this stuff.” He swept away the plates and tankards then dropped a leather-bound book onto the table, the Berk crest embossed on the cover. “The Dragon Manual. Everything we know about every dragon we know of,” he said as a clap of thunder boomed outside, making him pause for a second.

The thunder’s last echoes faded away then he said, “No attacks tonight. Study up.” Before leaving the teens with the book.

“Wait, you mean, _read_?” Tuffnut said, aghast.

“While we’re still alive?” Ruffnut looked equally horrified.

Snotlout snorted. “Why read words when you can just kill the stuff the words tell you stuff about?” he asked.

“Well if you don’t read the words, Snotlout, how will you know which stuff to kill?” Zenna asked him, turning around and smirking.

“Ooohhh…” Erland and Hiccup both snickered, enjoying the utterly dumbstruck look on Snotlout’s face.

Fishlegs was aflutter with excitement as he began to spout off information he had memorized from the Book of Dragons by heart. “Oh! I've read it like, seven times. There's this water dragon that sprays boiling water at your face. And--And there's this other one that buries itself for like a week…”

The Twins intervened before Fishlegs could bore them any further.

“Yeah, that sounds great. See, there was a chance I was gonna read that…” said Tuffnut, unimpressed with the knowledge the chubby Ingerman possessed.

“But, now…” Ruffnut made a face. She and Tuff hated anything that involved sitting down and staying in one place. And reading was, for them, the epitome of torture.

Snotlout scoffed and got up, flexing his arms. “You guys read, I’ll go kill stuff,” he said, puffing his chest out.

“Good luck with that. Make sure you don’t die tonight,” Erland said, mockingly waving goodbye to the pompous buffoon before going back to eating his meal, ignoring Fishlegs as he rambled on about some dragon with tree-shaped spines.

Seeing Astrid alone at the table with the Book of Dragons, Hiccup steeled his nerves and approached.

“So I guess we’ll share?” he asked timidly.

“Read it.” Astrid pushed the book towards him and got up.

“All mine then. Wow, okay. So, I’ll see you…” Hiccup managed to say before Astrid left the Great Hall, slamming the door shut. “…tomorrow.”

Erland scowled. _‘What is her problem?’_ he thought, then noticed Zenna furiously glaring at the Great Hall’s closed doors. He surmised that the Fiersome girl had a great dislike for the Hofferson shield-maiden wannabee due to the latter’s chilly response to Hiccup’s affections. He didn’t get Astrid, either. That girl could be amiable one second and withdrawn the next.

“Well, looks like we’re the only ones studying tonight,” Zenna said after a few tense minutes of silence, her anger evaporating as she finished her meal. Then her eyes lit up. “Hey… you guys wanna have a sleepover at my house tomorrow night?” she asked.

Hiccup and Erland looked at each other, blinking, then at Zenna. Hiccup grinned. “I’ll bring the cheese dip,” he said, earning a whoop from Zenna who high-fived him.

“I suppose one night at your place will be alright.” Erland shrugged. “It might be even better than staying in that precariously positioned wooden death trap that old goat calls home,” he chuckled, repressing a shudder as he remembered the times he’d get queasy just looking down from the front porch of Gothi’s hut.

Zenna clapped her hands together. “Excellent! I’ll make sure to cook us something special tomorrow night.” Her violet eyes sparkled in the candlelight.

The Great Hall emptied as the night turned darker. Soon, it was just the three of them left. Hiccup went to go get a fresh candle, leaving Erland and Zenna alone.

“You don’t care much for Astrid, do you, Zenna?” Erland’s question startled the Fiersome girl who raised an eyebrow at the 17-year old.

“Astrid? Well, I uh… Well, you see, it’s not that I don’t really care. It’s just that…” Zenna sighed, resting her elbows on the table. “It’s… complicated, Erland,” she told him.

Before Erland could pry any further, Hiccup was back with a newly-lit candle. Sitting down between the two, Hiccup opened the Book of Dragons.

“Dragon classifications. Strike Class, Fear Class, Mystery Class.”

Erland looked at each page, reading through the descriptions as quickly as he could, memorizing every illustration of every dragon. If he was going to live on Berk from now on, at least until he was fully Loki again, he needed to know about the dragons and how they behaved.

“Thunderdrum,” Hiccup said, turning the page to reveal a large dragon about as wide as a manta ray with an equally wide gaping mouth. “This reclusive dragon inhabits sea caves and dark tide pools. When startled, the Thunderdrum produces a concussive sound that can kill a man at close range. Extremely dangerous, kill on sight.”

Zenna turned the page next. “Timberjack: This gigantic creature has razor-sharp wings that can slice through full-grown trees. Extremely dangerous, kill on sight,” she read the description, the illustration of a wyrm-like creature with massive wings.

Erland cocked his head as he had a go turning the book’s pages. “Scauldron,” he intoned, staring at a sea dragon that could rival the blue whale in terms of size with a huge sac-like structure hanging from its mouth. “Sprays scalding water at its victim. Extremely dangerous.”

**_CRR-AAAAAA-CCCC-KKK!!!_ **

****

While Hiccup and Zenna both yelped, scooching closer to each other as the thunder roared, Erland didn’t even bat an eyelid. _‘Sounds like Thor’s having one of his fits again. Wonder what he could possibly be upset about now?’_ Loki sighed mentally.

“Changewing.”

_‘Ooh, interesting-looking dragon…’_ he thought, admiring the illustration of what was supposedly a Changewing, an elegant-looking creature with leaf-like spines. “Even newly-hatched dragons can spray acid. Kill on sight,” said Erland, frowning. “Is _every_ dragon ‘Extremely Dangerous’ around here?”

“Hey, even Terrible Terrors can eat a Viking out of house and home,” Hiccup informed him.

The trio continued reading. The pictures in the book seemed to flicker in the candle’s feeble glow. Some even appeared to be moving as they read on.

“Gronckle, Zippleback, the Skrill, Boneknapper, Whispering Death…”

“That’s a lot of dragons,” Erland whistled, feeling overwhelmed for once.

Zenna put a hand to her chin, thoughtful. “Personally, I feel like this book could use some updating. Especially when it comes to the whole ‘Kill on sight’ advice,” she remarked.

Hiccup flipped through the pages, thinking that Zenna had a point. Every entry on the dragons only covered what made them dangerous. There wasn’t any information regarding what they ate, what odd behaviors they exhibited, or even a section about mating rituals.

“Burns its victims, buries its victims, chokes its victims, turns its victims inside-out. Extremely dangerous, extremely dangerous, kill on sight, kill on sight, kill on sight...”

Finally, he stopped at a nearly-blank page.

“Night Fury: Speed, unknown. Size, unknown,” Hiccup read, staring at the huge blank space on the page meant for the illustration of the elusive dragon. Erland and Zenna huddled closer to him, curious.

“The unholy offspring of lightning and death itself,” Hiccup said softly.

“Never engage this dragon.” Zenna felt a shiver go down her spine.

“Your only chance, hide and pray it does not find you,” Erland read the last line of the Night Fury entry in a dead serious tone then smirked. “You’re right, Zenna. This book _really_ needs to be updated.”

Hiccup took out his journal and placed it on top of the Book of Dragons, his sketch of the downed dragon showing. Mind flashing back to the brief time he spent at the cove with his friends, Hiccup couldn’t and didn’t want to believe what the book just told him.

And, Odin dammit all to Helheim, he now wanted to see the two Night Furies again and prove the book wrong.

“I’m going back to the cove tomorrow,” he told Erland and Zenna who both grinned.

“Not by yourself, you’re not,” said Erland.

“Count me in too, Hicc!” Zenna smiled.

The rain had stopped by the time the three misfits left the Great Hall. Loki merely waved to Gothi as he entered the elder’s hut and headed straight for his room. Carving another notch onto his bedpost, Loki slipped under the sheets and was out like a light.


	8. The She-Wolf and the Shield-Maiden

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The lesson with the Nadder ends with a fight between two of Berk's fiercest ladies.

**Chapter 8: The She-Wolf and The Shield-maiden**

“H-hey, you know, I just happened to notice the book had nothing on Night Furies. Is there another book? Or a sequel? Maybe a little Night Fury pamphlet?” Hiccup asked just as Zenna and Erland both yelled, “LOOK OUT!”

“Whoa!” Hiccup’s ax was destroyed by a burst of Deadly Nadder fire, leaving him with just the handle, still smoldering with the intense magnesium flame’s heat.

Erland facepalmed and shook his head. “Asking questions in the middle of a battle, what is he thinking?” he groaned as he stood beside Gobber, watching the training exercise from the safety of the arena’s stands and protected by the metal spider web encasing the entire structure.

“Focus, Hiccup! You’re not even trying!” Gobber cajoled his scrawny apprentice.

The blacksmith had transformed the arena into a giant maze and had set the Nadder loose in the ring. The teens’ job was to evade the dragon for as much as possible until it had tired itself out and they could knock it out.

“Today is all about _attack_! Nadders are quick and light on their feet! Your job is to be quicker and lighter!” instructed Gobber.

“In other words, he wants us to be paranoid,” Zenna muttered to herself as she, Hiccup, and Fishlegs ran around the maze before splitting up.

Fishlegs screamed like a banshee that had encountered something more horrifying than itself, holding up his shield over his ruddy face as the Nadder lifted its tail and shot a whole load of spines at him.

“How does it do that?” Erland tilted his head curiously. “How can it regrow its tail spines so quickly?” he asked, observing how new spines on the Nadder’s tail emerged from the scales as soon as it had launched its first volley of deadly projectiles.

Gobber chuckled, “I’ll tell ya later, lad.” While Fishlegs shouted, “I’m _really_ beginning to question your teaching methods!”

“Really? You’re only questioning them _now_?” Zenna asked sarcastically when they crossed paths.

“I have to admit, Gobber. Your methods are rather… _unorthodox_ ,” Erland remarked.

“So I’ve been told.” Gobber shrugged. “But, in my experience, facing things head-on builds character,” he replied.

_‘Or gets you killed,’_ Erland silently added before noticing that the Twins were now face-to-face with the Nadder.

“Look for its blind spot. Every dragon has one. Find it, hide in it, and strike!” Gobber advised Ruffnut and Tuffnut, who quickly lined up single-file under the Nadder’s nose.

The Twins would have had the opportunity to strike, as the Nadder’s eyes were too far apart for the dragon to actually see them, if not for their inherent bickering problem.

“Ugh! Do you _ever_ bathe?” Ruffnut gagged, having caught a whiff of her brother’s body odor.

Tuffnut immediately butted his helmeted head against his sister’s. “If you don’t like it, then just get your own blind spot!” he growled.

“How about I give _you_ one?!” snarled Ruffnut as they broke formation, the added noise of their argument exposing themselves to the Nadder who immediately attacked.

“Ooh, that’s going to leave a mark!” Erland winced.

“Blind spot, yes. _Deaf_ spot? Not so much?” Gobber deadpanned.

Hiccup had been running around the maze, Zenna leading him by the hand, with Snotlout and Astrid sprinting ahead of them both. He stopped just as he reached the spot where Gobber and Erland were watching overhead, making Zenna sigh with exasperation.

“Hey, so how would one sneak up on a Night Fury?” asked Hiccup.

“Holy Shields, Hiccup. Can’t you ask questions when we’re done with this exercise and, you know, _safe_?” Zenna whispered to him agitatedly. She loved Hiccup’s inquisitive nature. But when running around like headless chickens in a maze with a wild dragon on the loose as well, inquisitiveness wasn’t the virtue needed to save one’s life.

“No one’s ever met one and lived to tell the tale. NOW GET IN THERE!” Gobber roared, waving his hammer hand in the air.

“I know, I know, but hypothetically…” Hiccup went on, Zenna tugging him away in an attempt to get him to refocus.

In the end, Astrid’s whisper of “Hiccup! Get down!” brought Hiccup back to their present situation. Crouching down, their shields clutched close to their chests, Hiccup and Zenna waited for Astrid to scope out the terrain.

Astrid spied the Nadder a few paces away from where they hid in the shadow of the maze’s walls. When the dragon turned its head, she gave the signal to tuck and roll which she and Snotlout did with no problems at all.

Zenna tried to copy the duo’s movements, not quite getting it right thanks to the sticks strapped to her back. The ends of her sticks lightly dug into Zenna’s shoulders, making her go “Ow!” and her tuck and roll sloppy.

Hiccup was even worse, his body’s momentum no match for the weight of his shield. He ended up falling flat on his back just as the Nadder turned its head again.

“Gogogogogogo!” Zenna yelped, helping Hiccup to his feet and running away with him, the Nadder’s jaws nearly grabbing Hiccup by the back of his fur vest.

Unconsciously, Erland gripped the chains surrounding the arena. He reached out to the Nadder, his mind relaying the same thought over and over again:

**_‘Please don’t kill the runty boy with the green eyes and the messy-haired girl with the violet eyes.’_ **

****

Surprisingly, the Nadder responded, its voice feminine and high-pitched in Erland’s head.

**_‘Alright, I won’t. I don’t even want to kill them. They’re not as annoying as the snot-nosed one anyway.’_ **

****

“Thank you,” Erland whispered under his breath. At least he knew that Hiccup and Zenna were going to be spared…

The Nadder set its sights on Astrid, who readied her ax. Then Snotlout showed up.

“Watch out, babe. I’ll take care of this,” he said confidently.

“Hey!” Astrid glared all hellfire at the Jorgenson as he threw his hammer at the dragon, missing.

Seeing Astrid’s angry face, Snotlout paled. “The _sun_ was in my eyes, Astrid!” he protested.

“Oh, dear Norns… This boy is on a whole other level of stupid…” Erland managed to wheeze out as he laughed, watching Snotlout make a fool of himself.

Snotlout continued to blabber even as Astrid finally got him to get moving. “What do you want me to do, block out the sun? I could do that, but I don’t have time right now!”

Astrid left Snotlout to fend for himself and began to climb onto one of the maze’s walls. Maybe, if she were lucky, she could catch the Nadder by surprise…

“Wow, she’s insane,” Zenna couldn’t help but whistle in admiration, forgetting about the situation for a moment to watch the Hofferson shield-maiden hopeful scale the maze walls like a cat.

And speaking of cats…

“They probably take the daytime off. You know, like a cat.” Hiccup was _still_ asking Gobber about Night Furies.

“And like a cat, his curiosity is going to get him killed one day, I’m sure of it…” muttered Erland.

“Has anyone ever seen one napping?” asked Hiccup as Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut ran past him and Zenna who was still watching Astrid leap from wall to wall, the Deadly Nadder right behind her.

“Easily distracted,” Erland tutted, noticing that the maze was collapsing _and_ that Astrid was leading the Nadder right towards Hiccup and Zenna.

“Hiccup!” Gobber yelled in warning.

Hiccup turned around just as Astrid jumped off one last wall before it collapsed, his crush yelling his name before she landed right on top of him.

Zenna didn’t know whether to smile, laugh, or panic at the sight of her best friend pinned down by his longtime crush with an ax blade stuck deep in his shield.

“Oooh! Love on the battlefield!” Tuffnut jeered, now joining the other teens behind the ruined remains of a wall.

“She could do better,” Ruffnut said, trying her best not to laugh.

The squawk of the approaching Nadder pushed Zenna into action. She took one look over her shoulder at Astrid who was struggling to free her ax from Hiccup’s shield and decided that she was going to have to take the Nadder down herself.

Zenna sprinted towards the Nadder, lowering her body as she slid down at the last second into its blind spot. She swung her shield up, hitting the Nadder in the throat.

While the Nadder staggered about, disoriented, Zenna unstrapped her battle sticks. _‘A swift strike to the head and it’s lights out for you!’_ she thought, getting ready to swing.

That’s when Astrid yanked her ax off of Hiccup’s shield. Quickly, she swung it, hitting the Nadder right in the head and inadvertently knocking Zenna out of the way, the Fiersome girl faceplanting onto the ground.

“You’re welcome…” Zenna mumbled, miffed, getting up and wiping the dust and dirt off her face.

Gobber entered the arena and chased the dazed Nadder back into its cage while Erland walked over the the teens.

“Quite a show,” Erland remarked then looked at Zenna. “You alright?” he asked.

Zenna nodded then frowned as Gobber said, “Well done, Astrid.”

She did pretty well in distracting the dragon and buying Astrid some time.

Then Gobber smiled in her direction. “At least one of you lot knows how to take advantage of a dragon’s blind spot,” he said loudly. While he didn’t explicitly praise Zenna, the old blacksmith was proud of her. _‘Just like your brother,’_ he thought, looking at the violet-eyed girl who beamed at him.

The jovial mood, however, didn’t last.

Clutching her ax and panting from the exertion and adrenaline, Astrid rounded on whom she thought was the least adept and the most disgraceful of the group.

A poor, still on the ground, Hiccup.

“Is this some kind of a joke to you?!” exclaimed Astrid, making everybody look at her.

Hiccup looked up at her fearfully.

“Our parents’ war is about to become ours! Figure out which side you’re on!” Astrid snapped.

Never had Hiccup wanted so badly to disappear until now. He lowered his gaze and said nothing. Just when he thought that he and Astrid had a chance of reconnecting, he had to screw up again.

Erland was about to say a few choice words to Astrid when Zenna beat him to it.

“ _Why_ are you always criticizing _him_?” Zenna marched up to Astrid, putting both of her hands on her hips. “We all messed up today, some of us even doing worse.” She sent a loaded look at Snotlout and the Twins before turning back to Astrid, scowling. “Why does Hiccup always get the blame?” she demanded.

“Because he is not being a proper Viking,” Astrid answered bluntly.

“And who’s to say what a proper Viking is anyway?” Zenna threw her hands up in the air in exasperation.

“A proper Viking is focused, determined, fearless, willing to do anything and sacrifice anything for the good of the tribe,” Astrid retorted, sky blue eyes cold and harsh.

“Oh, you mean like _you_?” Zenna’s amethyst eyes hardened. “So determined to be the perfect shield-maiden that you decided that our friendship was no longer important?” she asked in a low voice.

Erland glanced at the teens and saw that they all looked equal parts shocked and uncomfortable.

“Alright, you lasses had a go at each other…” Gobber stepped forward, intent on breaking up the fight before things escalated.

“Astrid,” Zenna sighed, the hardness in her eyes diminishing. “we used to be friends. What changed?” she asked.

For a moment, Astrid was overcome with a myriad of emotions. Anger, sadness, regret, longing chased themselves across her features. Then, looking at all the eyes on her, she put up her walls even higher than ever before.

“You didn’t want revenge,” she said at last.

“Revenge for what?” Zenna asked, although she already knew the answer.

“For Elias!” Astrid burst out. “The dragons _killed_ him, Zen! Your big brother died and you’re not even angry at the dragons for what they did! You’ll be able to get your revenge if you just give up being a healer and become a warrior!”

“Even if I did, it won’t change anything! No matter how many dragons I’ll kill, it won’t bring him back!” snapped Zenna, clenching her hands into fists. “And I’d rather be a healer instead of living my entire life as a warrior and feeling angry all the time,” she told her.

Hiccup smiled at Zenna’s words. So did Erland, who felt that his esteem for Zenna just went up another notch.

“Your brother lived life to the fullest. He enjoyed life even when he had to take it!” Astrid retorted.

“That’s because he was surrounded by love and _friends_ , friends that he didn’t push away!” Zenna yelled, her eyes betraying the immense pain she felt at the growing rift between her and Astrid.

Astrid, however, was too angry to listen to Zenna. She was angry at Hiccup for being a screw up. She was angry at Zenna for her lacking sense of vengeance. She was angry at herself for what Zenna was saying was true.

She _had_ pushed Zenna and Hiccup away. They used to be such great friends, always ready to go on an adventure, no matter how small, when they were young. Then, callously, she distanced herself from them in order to focus on her training. To redeem her family’s honor after her Uncle Finn’s passing, and she all but stopped talking to them.

But instead of expressing remorse, Astrid, fueled by rage and shame, yelled the worst possible thing she could ever say to Zenna.

“ _Well Elias cared too much about other people, and that’s why he’s dead!_ ”

Snotlout and the Twins gasped while Fishlegs squeaked, covering his mouth in terror.

Zenna’s head snapped up and a feral snarl erupted from her throat. “What. Did. You. Say?” she growled, eyes flashing dangerously.

“Astrid, enough!” Hiccup’s eyes were wide with horror as he stood up. He gently laid a hand on Astrid’s arm, flinching as she pulled away from him.

Zenna got into a fighting stance, muscles tensed. “I’m giving you one chance, Astrid, to take back what you said,” she threatened.

Astrid glared and delivered the final blow. “Elias’ greatest flaw, the reason why he died, was that he didn’t care about his own safety. A real warrior should be able to take care of himself and look after others. Your brother failed to be the best warrior he could be and it might as well be your fault that he cared too much about you,” she said coldly.

Letting out a howl of fury, Zenna tackled Astrid to the ground!

“Zen, stop!” Hiccup struggled to pull his enraged sister off of Astrid, the two girls trading blows that he narrowly dodged, but was pushed back as the two rolled around and continued to tussle.

“Fight! Fight! Fight!” Snotlout and the Twins cheered while Fishlegs whimpered and hid his face behind his battered shield.

“Take that back! You take that back right now!” Zenna shrieked, seeing nothing but Astrid and the haze of red clouding her eyes and common sense.

Astrid growled and let her fists fly, not caring if she ended up bloodied by Zenna who was scratching as well as punching. She swung her fist, landing a hit on Zenna’s right eye, making Zenna howl with pain and rage. The two wrestled furiously on the ground, like wolves with their fangs bared until…

“ALRIGHT! THAT’S IT!”

Gobber replaced his hammer hand with his hook and grabbed Astrid as she pinned Zenna to the ground and pulled her off the Fiersome girl. At the same time, both Hiccup and Erland grabbed Zenna and held her back.

“CLASS DISMISSED!” roared Gobber, his face red as a freshly-cooked lobster. “AND I WANT YE TWO LASSES,” he glared at Astrid and Zenna. “TO STAY AWAY FROM EACH OTHER UNTIL YOU’VE COOLED OFF. GOT IT?!”

“…Yes, sir…” Astrid and Zenna mumbled, glaring at each other.

The atmosphere around the ragtag group of trainees was subdued as Astrid stomped out of the arena with her face all scratched and blonde hair looking like it’d been combed by angry squirrels. Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut followed her, casting wary looks at an equally disheveled Zenna.

The violet-eyed Fiersome’s right eye was swollen shut and turning a sickly blue-black color, alarming Hiccup.

Looking at Astrid’s retreating figure, he felt… _angry_.

At Astrid.

Not just for provoking Zenna; he couldn’t believe Astrid would even dare to bring Elias into the argument.

Hiccup clenched his fists. He wanted to go after Astrid, maybe even yell at her for being so callous, but he looked at Zenna who was biting her lip, trying her hardest to hide the intense hurt in her eyes, and felt a sharp pang of sorrow and pity for her.

While two years had passed since her elder brother’s death, Zenna was still torn up about it – part of the reason why she was having a hard time choosing between becoming a healer or a warrior. She didn’t want revenge, but just because she wanted to save lives rather than take them didn’t mean she was disgracing her brother’s memory.

And Astrid just made things worse by saying that Elias had been weak to care! She slandered his honorary big brother’s name!

Elias had been the kindest, most caring, and most considerate boy Hiccup had ever met. No matter what, Elias had always made sure that he and Zenna were okay, that they didn’t get hurt during one of their adventures, and didn’t care if he got into a few scrapes if it meant protecting them. Elias had been his hero, his big brother… and Astrid had insulted his memory.

Hiccup’s knuckles turned white as he fought to keep his anger under control. _‘I guess Astrid’s not that perfect Divine Beauty I once adored this whole time,’_ he thought bitterly.

“Oh dear, that looks bad.” Erland’s worried voice snapped Hiccup out of his thoughts.

Erland frowned, gently cupping Zenna’s face in his hands. “We better take you to Gothi. She’ll have something for that,” he said, gesturing to Zenna’s black eye.

With a shaky breath, Zenna nodded and left the arena with Hiccup and Erland.

* * *

Gothi clucked her tongue upon seeing Zenna’s swollen right eye. She prodded Erland with her staff to go to the ice chest she kept in a corner. Then she sat Zenna on a chair and began to put her through the simple vision tests she devised for patients with shiners, scratching short questions about how much pain she was feeling and if she was seeing double.

“Anything I can do to help, Gothi?” asked Hiccup, holding Zenna’s hand.

Gothi smiled and scribbled on the ground, _‘Just stay and hold her hand, Hiccup. Your comfort’s doing her a world of good.’_

And, indeed, having Hiccup by her side was distracting Zenna from the pain. She even managed a tiny smile when Hiccup looked at her.

Erland scooped two large handfuls of crushed ice onto a cloth, tied it, and handed it to Gothi who put it against Zenna’s swollen right eye.

“Thanks, Gothi…” Zenna sighed, the iciness numbing the pain. Then her one good eye turned sad. “I can’t believe Astrid would say those things…” she looked at the three people gathered around her.

Hiccup’s emerald orbs lost their usual cheerful light as he looked down. “I can’t believe Astrid said those things either. I mean, she _knows_ how much Eli meant to you and-and you two used to be friends. I can’t… I never thought she could be so… _mean_ …” he murmured.

“Well I hate to break it to you, Hiccup, but Astrid _is_ mean.” Erland wrinkled his nose in disgust. “She hides her meanness and callousness behind her so-called ‘dedication’ to becoming a warrior, and calls it being fearless. Honestly, how could you possibly be friends with the likes of her?” he asked Zenna.

Zenna looked down at her boots. “We _were_ friends. Astrid and I were pretty close when we were little. She was absolutely fearless and was so strong. Eli also liked her and even convinced her to teach me a few moves. She admired him too, nearly even started fawning over him after he entered training before we did.

“Then Eli died and do you know what she said to me during the funeral? _I’m sorry for your loss._

“Many others died as well on the night my brother was killed. But the way Astrid said those words to me… it was as if my brother was nothing more than a casualty and she _knew_ him! Had admired him even. She’s become so focused on becoming the perfect warrior that she pretty much pushed me away.

“Just like that… it was as if we were never friends in the first place,” Zenna said, shoulders slumping.

“Astrid used to be a totally different person a long time ago, Erland.” Hiccup squeezed Zenna’s hand. “She was kind, funny, always happy. Then… she changed. She didn’t smile as often as she used to, spent all her time training. In the end, she left me and Zen behind to hang out with the more Viking teens like Snotlout,” he murmured.

Erland felt his heart grow heavy, the duo’s words sinking in. No doubt about it… Astrid had abandoned Hiccup and Zenna the moment it became apparent that they weren’t going to be perfect little soldiers like her.

Looking at the two, Erland wondered just how often Hiccup and Zenna had been left behind by their peers, kept at arm’s length by neighbors, shunned by the people of Berk because they were different.

As Loki, he was shaken to realize that he was looking at reflections of himself.

How often had Asgardians skirted around him? Had looked down on his magic, favoring Thor’s brute strength? Had whispered insults behind his back?

_‘Far too often,’_ thought Loki. _‘Even with Thor’s companionship, I still wasn’t comforted.’_

He was different. So were Hiccup and Zenna.

Maybe they could find comfort in each other…

“Well…” Erland blushed, knowing that what he was about to do was going to change his whole dynamic with the two misfits. “ _I_ don’t care that you two aren’t like the average Vikings,” he said.

He smiled, stretching his arms up over his head and resting his hands behind his head. “In fact, I find you two to be the only people around here I would actually _want_ to hang out with. You’re curious, you ask questions nobody around here would even dare ask, and, most of all, _smart_. Unlike most people on this wet heap of rock,” remarked Erland, earning a light whack on the head from Gothi. “Ow! Alright, you’re smart too!”

Hiccup and Zenna laughed, genuinely happy belly laughs that made their shoulders bounce and forced tears out of their eyes. They couldn’t help it; they were so happy. To hear Erland say that he genuinely liked them for their real selves, to have someone other than Gobber or Zen’s parents praise their intellect… it made them both feel lighter than air.

The trio stayed at Gothi’s house a little while longer, munching on nuts and berries Gothi brought out from the larder until Zenna declared that her black eye didn’t hurt anymore.

Gothi examined the still black and blue bruising then wrapped another load of ice chips in a cloth. She gave it to Zenna, signing to the young girl to keep applying ice to the afflicted area until the bruising faded.

“So…” Hiccup gave his two friends a shy smile. “anyone want to go to the cove?”

Zenna had the bright idea of stopping by her place to grab shields in case the two Night Furies got aggressive while Hiccup went back to his house and picked out the two largest fish he could find in the kitchen.

“Smart moves,” Erland complimented, seeing the equipment and realizing what the duo planned to do.

The three of them set out for the cove, a strong breeze blowing through the trees as the afternoon crawled by. For Hiccup and Zenna, having grown up on one of the harshest landscapes known to man, strong winds were normal and they automatically dug their heels in as they walked.

As they neared Raven Point, Erland suddenly stopped. The wind whistled in his ears, sending a soft whisper to him as it blew all around him.

**_“Hot… cold… feel horrible…”_ **

****

_‘Who’s saying that?’_ wondered Erland before he heard Hiccup and Zenna calling out to him to keep up and trudged after them, the voice in the wind all but forgotten.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof, the rift between Astrid and Zenna grows. And Hiccup is starting to have doubts about the girl he's crushed on for years. And, ooh, Erland/Loki hears a mysterious voice. Who could it be?
> 
> Leave a kudos and a comment whenever you guys want. I would greatly appreciate any feedback from you guys :)


	9. Forbidden Friendships

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Hiccup and Zenna come face-to-face with the two Night Furies. And Erland finds the source of the voice he heard.

**Chapter 9: Forbidden Friendships**

Hiccup led his friends into the cove, holding his shield out in front of him just in case one of the Night Furies pounced. He cursed under his breath when his shield got wedged in between two rocks. Even with Erland and Zenna helping him push, Hiccup couldn’t dislodge the shield.

“I suggest leaving those behind.” Erland gestured to Zenna’s battle sticks. “They could get stuck too,” he suggested.

Zenna pressed her lips into a thin line. “How am I going to defend us then?” she asked, eyes already darting around and trying to spot the elusive dragons.

“You won’t need to,” soothed Erland. _‘I’ll reason with them,’_ he mentally added as they crawled under the shield after Hiccup.

Erland hung back, letting Hiccup and Zenna go forward with nothing but two fish as peace offerings. If the Night Furies turned aggressive, he could just step in and use his newfound dragon communication skills to diffuse the situation and give the two young Vikings a chance to escape.

_‘Hopefully, they’ll be easier to “talk” to than that Monstrous Nightmare from the raid…’_ thought Loki, shuddering as the image of the dragon he had killed flashed through his mind.

Without Erland right behind them, Hiccup and Zenna felt unsafe, completely exposed, yet they ventured forth with their fish and looked around the cove. For a moment, they both thought that the Night Furies had flown away.

Then Zenna looked up and turned her head to the left and gasped, making Hiccup do the same.

The two Night Furies gracefully jumped down from the rock they were crouched on. They sniffed, their eyes locking onto the fish the two young Vikings held, then slowly approached.

Suddenly the male hissed, taking a step back from Hiccup. The female whined softly, sending her mate a questioning look.

Zenna held up both of her hands to show that she was unarmed while Hiccup opened his vest slightly, exposing his knife.

In response, both male and female Night Furies growled, their pupils narrowing into slits.

“Knife,” Zenna whispered, not taking her eyes off the female Night Fury who tilted her head. To her surprise, the dragoness' expression turned from wary to something akin to concern as it locked gazes with the Fiersome girl.

_‘Maybe it’s my black eye…’_ Zenna mused, her right eye throbbing a little. She was going to have to put ice on it again soon.

Meanwhile, Hiccup slowly reached for his knife, the male Night Fury growling lowly, then dropped it. Just to be safe, he picked it up with his foot and threw it into the cove’s pond.

The two Night Furies’ reaction to that was, in Erland’s opinion, ridiculously adorable. Both dragons immediately sat on the ground, their bodies going from tense to relaxed in less than three seconds, and regarded the two Vikings with curiosity like puppies seeing something for the first time.

Slowly, slowly, _slowly_ they approached, their mouths opening slightly to reveal pink gums…

“Huh.” Hiccup knitted his eyebrows together. “ _Toothless._ I could’ve sworn you had…” he muttered.

_Shhhinkkk!_

“Oh, gods…” Zenna murmured, face going dramatically white, as both dragons snatched the fishes out of their hands with their sharp, _retractable_ …

“…teeth.” Hiccup’s eyes widened to the size of saucers as the two Night Furies ate.

“Interesting,” said Erland, putting a hand to his chin. Night Furies have retractable teeth. That was something that could be added to the Book of Dragons.

As amazing as it was to discover that Night Furies had retractable teeth, Hiccup and Zenna were still nervous. When the Night Furies began to approach them, they panicked and began to back away until they felt their backs hit something hard. Looking behind them, they realized that the dragons had backed them up against a rock and that their chances of escape were now all but gone.

“Uh, uh, no, no, no.” Hiccup gulped as the Night Furies sniffed him and his best friend. “We-we don’t have any more,” he stuttered.

“We’re out of fish. Sorry,” Zenna squeaked then looked to Erland and mouthed, _“Help.”_

Erland chuckled then looked at the two Night Furies. **_‘Alright, you two. Quit scaring them,’_** he said with his mind.

**_“We’re not scaring them, Serpent Tongue,”_** Destin huffed. **_“We’re going to feed them.”_**

****

**_“They’re skin and bone, these two,”_** Erika warbled. **_“And I’m worried about the girl’s eye. She’s going to need extra nourishment for it to heal.”_**

****

Erland resisted the urge to laugh as the two dragons regurgitated half of both fishes Hiccup and Zenna gave them.

He then pressed both hands to his mouth to stifle his laughter as Hiccup and Zenna, both understandably horrified, took a bite and swallowed.

Erland had tears of mirth rolling down his face by the time both Night Furies tried to smile back at Hiccup and Zenna once they were done eating. Wiping away his tears and taking a few breaths to calm down, he approached Hiccup and Zenna, the two watching the Night Furies fly away when they tried to touch them, and casually slung his arms over their shoulders.

“I… am never going to let you two forget this. _Ever._ ” He grinned from ear to ear like a cat who had swallowed the plumpest, juiciest, canary. He was _definitely_ going to use this for blackmail in the future…

Hiccup merely rolled his eyes at him while Zenna opened her mouth to exhale a mouthful of fishy breath right in his face.

“Oh, now that is just low, Zen, and _very_ unladylike,” Erland coughed, waving his hand to get rid of the smell.

“I’m not one of those prim and proper types, Erland. Get used to it,” Zenna retorted, giving the older boy a catlike grin of her own.

The trio watched the two dragons land a few feet away from them, torching a small patch of dirt then lying down on it like cats getting ready for bed.

Still curious, Hiccup and Zenna approached the dragons while they were distracted by a little bird in its nest.

The two Night Furies then felt like something was invading their personal space and looked away from the bird only to find two very persistent young Vikings sitting quite closely to them on the ground.

“Hi,” said Zenna, wiggling her fingers in greeting.

**_“Ugh, go away, tiny humans,”_** The male Night Fury grumbled, sweeping his tail in front of his face.

**_‘Pretending that they’re not there won’t make them go away,’_** Erland told him, chuckling.

**_“Shut up, Serpent Tongue, and let my mate and I sleep in peace.”_ **

****

The female Night Fury didn’t go try to go to sleep at first. Instead, she stared at Zenna; or, more specifically, her black eye. She warbled softly, tilting her head to the side in confusion.

“Uhm… I’m guessing you’re wondering about my black eye? It’s just something I got in a fight. I-It’s not life-threatening or anything. Just gotta put ice on it for a few days and I’ll get better,” Zenna mumbled, feeling awkward talking to a dragon and self-conscious of her injury.

The female Night Fury stared at her, its catlike eyes locked on the swollen blue and black mess that was Zenna’s right eye, then purred, **_“Okay.”_** And laid her head on the ground to try and get some sleep.

Unable to contain themselves, Hiccup and Zenna carefully crept closer to the two dragons then reached out to touch them.

Then the male lifted his one-finned tail up and gave them both a look that sent them walking away.

“Well, you’ve fed them, gotten to see them up close. Shall we go?” Erland asked the two as they went back to him.

Looking at each other, then at the two sleeping Night Furies, then back at each other again, Hiccup and Zenna knew what they needed to do.

“I think Zen and I are going to stay here longer, Erland. Y-You can go if you want,” Hiccup said, scuffing the tip of his boot on the ground.

Erland raised an eyebrow, suspicious.

“We’ll be fine. We won’t do anything stupid,” Zenna reassured him.

Shrugging, Erland turned around and began to walk away. He looked over his shoulder and said, “I’ll be back for you two later then. To pick up what’s left of your mauled remains.” Picking up one of their discarded shields as he went.

* * *

Climbing out of the cove, he watched Hiccup and Zenna take a seat on the dirt. The two were intent on observing the Night Furies until they finally got the chance to touch them.

“Those two are going to be doing something crazy. I just know it…” Erland muttered to himself.

Once he was alone, he was Loki again. He walked through the woods in silence, thinking.

It honestly felt strange admitting to Hiccup and Zenna that he liked them for who they were. His entire life, he kept his true thoughts and feelings hidden behind an impenetrable icy demeanor. Nobody ever knew what he was feeling at any given time. No one.

_‘Mother knew.’_ Loki shook his head and sighed. _‘I mean, Frigga. Frigga always knew what I was feeling even when I didn’t say anything or made any outward signs of showing it. She always knew… Mother’s intuition, I suppose,’_ he thought, a pang of pain shooting through his heart.

Frigga was, honestly, the only thing he missed about Asgard. Try as he could, Loki couldn’t fully disassociate himself from the woman he had been raised to believe was his mother.

But Frigga wasn’t his mother. He had no idea who his birth mother actually was and, frankly, he didn’t want to know. Knowing that he was the abandoned runt of Laufey was bad enough, finding out about his mother would surely bring him deeper into despair.

As he wandered through the forest, Loki frowned as a voice began to whisper in his head.

**_“Awful… I feel awful… Someone, please… Please help me…”_ **

****

It was only when he heard growling and snuffling coming from a grove of trees as he passed by did Loki realize that the voice wasn’t inside his head at all.

There was a dragon hiding there.

Holding up his shield, Loki stepped through the grove and found himself at the mouth of a large cave, ten feet tall and 30 feet wide. Entering slowly, he waited for his vision adjusted to the darkness.

Curled up inside the cave, to his astonishment, was a Changewing. Its scaled body was the color of old parchment and its bright yellow eyes were bloodshot. Green-tinted saliva dripped out from its slightly open mouth as it hissed upon seeing Loki.

**_“Oh, for the love of all things scaly… Just when I called out for help, a human shows up. Thank you, gods. Just what I needed!”_** it complained in a honeyed female voice.

Loki rolled his eyes and took a step forward.

The Changewing raised her hackles and hissed, drops of acidic saliva landing on Loki’s shield but not melting through the wood.

“You’re sick,” said Loki out loud.

The Changewing narrowed her eyes at him. **_“Yes, thank you, Captain Obvious. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m just going to lie here and waste away… Or maybe you can do me a favor and slit my throat with those daggers of yours. At this rate, I’ll be glad for someone to kill me,”_** she rasped, coughing out a small glob of acid onto a rock.

Keeping his mouth shut, Loki switched tactics. **_‘How did a majestic creature like you end up here?’_**

****

**_“Holy Mother of Odin!”_** The Changewing yelped, nearly banging her head on the cave’s ceiling. **_“Y-You’re speaking to me through your mind! How?”_**

****

Loki shrugged. **_‘Perk of being the Serpent Tongue,’_** he replied.

The Changewing’s yellowed skin managed to take on a light green tinge as recognition flashed across her face.

**_“Loki… What a surprise…”_** she hissed, inclining her head slightly in a bow.

Smiling, Loki took in the Changewing’s features. She didn’t look starved but with the way she stayed lying down and how thick her saliva was, it looked like she hadn’t had any water for a while.

**_‘So, how did you end up ill in the first place?’_** He asked.

**_“Rotten boar.”_** The Changewing grimaced. **_“Found a couple of rotting carcasses on a nearby island and made the mistake of eating them,”_** she shuddered and hacked up another load of acid and spit, making Loki step back to save his boots. **_“I’d get out and cleanse myself with water and wild ginger but… Ooh, my stomach rebels at the very thought of leaving this cave…”_**

****

Loki felt pity for the Changewing. Food poisoning was never a good time. And it was something he and Thor were very familiar with.

There had been moments when traitors to Asgard had tried to kill the two princes by poisoning their food and drink. Most plots failed but there had been one or two instances when he or Thor had gotten sick after eating a meal. Frigga would always take them straight to the healer and stay with them until they felt better…

_‘Too bad Eir’s not around. And, just my luck, I don’t have my magic. But… I can’t just let this dragon die…’_ thought Loki.

He found himself saying out loud, “I can help you.” Then looking into the Changewing’s bloodshot eyes. “Will you let me help you?” he asked softly.

Snorting, the Changewing lowered her gaze. **_“Why help me? You’ll be in a lot of trouble if you do something like that in these parts,”_** she muttered.

Loki put his shield down on the ground and folded his arms across his chest. “I do what I want,” he said, smirking.

The Changewing put a claw to her snout. **_“And if I do get better, thanks to your help, what if I want to kill you?”_** she asked.

**_‘Well, you can certainly try. But I definitely wouldn’t make it easy for you,’_** Loki replied with his mind. Even without his magic, he felt confident that he could escape getting burnt alive by the Changewing’s acid.

A minute passed before the Changewing nodded. **_“Alright, Serpent Tongue Loki. I’ll let you help me. You can start by bringing me fresh water, ginger, and some fish.”_**

****

Loki nodded and began to back out of the cave. He wasn’t taking any chances. A swipe from the dragon’s tail could hurl him against the cave wall while he had his back turned and send him straight to Valhalla, after all.

As he reached the mouth of the cave, he asked, “What should I call you?” only to receive a huff.

It was only when he was on his way to the village did Loki hear a soft voice, carried by the wind, whisper a name into his ear.

**_“Embla.”_ **

* * *

Meanwhile, Hiccup and Zenna continued to watch the two Night Furies. Right now, the two dragons were sleeping upside down in a tree.

“They’re like bats…” murmured Zenna, sitting next to Hiccup as he drew a picture of a Night Fury in the sand. She picked up a stick and began to draw a second Night Fury that, compared to Hiccup’s, looked like a mess.

Moments passed before they felt something, well, _two_ somethings looming behind them. The Night Furies had woken up and were now watching the duo draw.

Hiccup and Zenna said nothing, content on just minding their own business and not agitating the two dragons behind them. They heard the two dragons lumber away, branches snapping, and looked over their shoulders to see both Night Furies drawing as well, a branch in each dragon’s mouth.

_“What the…?”_ Hiccup mouthed to Zenna who looked just as stunned as him.

They watched, stunned, as the two Night Furies continued to draw. Every now and then, both dragons would look at the two Vikings watching them before going back to their “art.”

Finally, with a final jab of their branches, they finished their drawing. To both Night Furies, their drawing captured the essences of the two young Vikings in the cove.

To Hiccup and Zenna, it looked like a drunken spider had tried to make a giant web and failed and flung the web’s remains onto the dirt.

A little confused, Hiccup and Zenna tried to leave. However, once their feet stepped on one of the lines, the two Night Furies snarled.

Quickly, they took their feet off the line, and the dragons’ faces mellowed out.

Hiccup and Zenna stepped on the line again.

The dragons became angry.

Step.

Angry.

Hiccup and Zenna then stepped _over the line_ and, slowly, began to weave through the lines in the dirt. It was an intricate dance, with the two of them, twirling around each other as they worked together to make it out of the intricate web.

Two warm puffs of air greeted the two misfits as they emerged from the web. Hiccup and Zenna turned around. The Night Furies sat before them, eyes calm and round.

They tried to reach out again, getting wary snarls from both dragons.

All of a sudden, an idea popped into Hiccup’s head. He then looked to Zenna, whose eyes lit up.

A true friend can always understand what her best friend was saying, even when said best friend used his eyes to speak.

Zenna understood what Hiccup’s eyes were telling her.

And, like a true friend, she trusted him.

Slowly, both Hiccup and Zenna offered their right hands to the dragons… and looked away.

It was the tensest moment of silence Hiccup and Zenna had ever felt. Their brains were both screaming at them, _‘This is a stupid idea! Run! Run! RUN!’_ but they stood still.

The entire afternoon, grounded or not, the Night Furies could have easily killed them with a plasma blast at any time yet they hadn’t.

If those dragons could let them stay in the cove and not kill them, maybe they can trust the two to _not_ bite their hands off.

Hiccup felt something warm and scaly press into his open palm, and he dared himself to look.

_‘Oh wow… Wow… Oh wow…’_ was all his brain could think of.

Hiccup stared at the male Night Fury, at its snout pressed into his palm, speechless. Beside him, Zenna was doing the same thing, her mouth slightly open.

The Night Furies trusted them.

They could feel the warmth of their scales as their snouts touched their hands.

As quickly as they had come, the Night Furies withdrew and ran off.

“Holy Shields…” Zenna breathed out, shaking her head. “We-we…”

“We didn’t lose our right hands,” uttered Hiccup, his mind still unable to process what had just happened.

“Well, that was unexpected.”

Erland chuckled as the two jumped and stepped out of the shadows. He had gone back to the village where he stole a basket of fish from the winter supply house and a few stems of wild ginger from Gothi’s apothecary. Then he had filled up an empty bucket he borrowed from the hut with water from a tiny spring he found bubbling near Embla’s cave and had gone back to the cave to leave the fish, ginger, and water for her to have before heading back to the cove to pick up Hiccup and Zenna’s mauled remains.

He had arrived just in time to see the two Night Furies touch their noses to Hiccup and Zenna’s hands then run away. Leaving the two Vikings unscathed.

“So how did it feel? Was their skin cold and scaly? Wet and slimy?” Erland asked them once they were out of the cove.

“Warm.” Hiccup’s eyes stared off into the distance. “Warm and alive and something that I can’t really explain. It was…” he mumbled.

“ _Surreal_ ,” Zenna said quietly, still blown away by what just happened.

“Sounds to me that they trust you two… somewhat,” Erland mused.

The sun had long gone to sleep by the time they made it back to the village.

“Ah, we might need to reschedule that sleepover,” Zenna sighed, looking up at the deep purple sky. “I was going to make my special baked chicken with bread stuffing but I don’t think I’ve got the time for that now.”

Hiccup and Erland shrugged. It had been a long day and a sleepover was going to tire them out even more anyway.

They passed by the blacksmith’s stall where Gobber greeted them cheerfully.

“You three weirdos have been gone all day,” he laughed then looked at Zenna’s black eye and frowned. “Cooled off, Zen?” he asked the Fiersome girl.

“Cooled off, Gobber. Got any spare ice?” Zenna winced as her black eye started throbbing again.

Gobber wrapped up a bit of ice in a rag and handed it to Zenna. “I’m havin’ a cookout with the other trainees tonight. You’re welcome to join us. Just don’t start any fights, ya hear?” he told the trio.

“We’ll be there,” Hiccup replied, wondering if he was ever going to be able to look at Astrid the same way ever again after what happened earlier.

“Just… please don’t call us The Three Weirdos.” Erland grimaced at the name.

“Ha! That’s what everyone used to call Hiccup and Zenna and Elias, you know,” Gobber chuckled. “I can still remember you three as wee ones, running around Berk and getting into all sorts of mischief…”

“Good times…” Zenna smiled wistfully.

Bucket and Mulch, two of Berk’s finest fishermen, passed by the smithy, deep in conversation.

“It’s strange. I went to check the fish we have in the winter supply house and it looked a little less than when we filled it up. Bucket, did you forget to put some of our catch in?” Mulch questioned his bucket-clad companion.

“Yes. I mean, no. Maybe? Oh, which catch was it?” Bucket scratched his bucket, confused.

Erland pretended to be interested in the different limb attachments mounted on a wall in Gobber’s stall until Bucket and Mulch had gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, now you all know what kind of dragon Erland/Loki's going to bond with ;) What do you think of Embla the Changewing? 
> 
> When I was brainstorming this story, I just knew that a Changewing would be the perfect fit for Loki. They're sly and cunning, with their ability to camouflage themselves like chameleons... it fits with Loki, who knows how to conceal his true nature.
> 
> Read and review. Reviews are greatly appreciated.


	10. To Build Trust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Embla and Loki have a little heart-to-heart.

**Chapter 10: To Build Trust**

The salty, smoky smell of roasting meat and fish permeated the air as Gobber and the teens hung out at one of the watchtowers that night.

Astrid and Zenna avoided eye contact with each other, the latter still feeling irked by the former insulting her brother’s good name. Astrid couldn’t bear to look at Zenna’s black eye so, instead, she focused on listening to Gobber as he regaled them all with tales of his earlier dragon fighting days.

“…And with one twist, he took my hand, and swallowed it whole,” said Gobber, waving his roasted chicken in the air as he went on. “And I saw the look on his face: I was delicious. He must have passed the word because it wasn’t a month before another one of them took my leg!”

Snotlout, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut, and Fishlegs were amazed by the tale. Hiccup and Zenna both smiled and rolled their eyes, having heard the story billions of times before.

Erland yawned, dropping another raw fish and a chicken leg into a bucket he kept behind his seat. He planned to head back to Embla’s cave and leave her with some supper before he went to bed tonight.

Fishlegs, fascinated by Gobber’s story, proceeded to ask a most disturbing question. “Isn’t it weird to think that your hand was inside a dragon? Like if your mind was still in control of it, you could have killed the dragon from the inside by… crushing his heart, or something,” he suggested.

“But wouldn’t his hand be too chomped up to actually be of any use?” Zenna piped up, holding up a speared salmon over the fire.

Fishlegs’ face fell. “Oh yeah… Forgot about that…” he said before his face brightened up. “Unless the dragon swallowed his hand whole!” he exclaimed.

Snotlout grimaced. “I swear, I’m so angry right now! I’ll avenge your beautiful hand and your beautiful foot. I’ll chop off the legs of every dragon I fight. _With my face!_ ” he proclaimed.

Erland snickered. “With a face like yours, Snotlout, the dragons will fly away screaming before you even get a chance,” he retorted.

Hiccup, Zenna, Gobber, and the Twins laughed. Even Astrid managed to crack a smile.

Snotlout, his face red as a tomato, sent Erland a death glare, the newcomer giving him a cheeky grin.

Once he stopped laughing long enough to wipe the tears from his eyes, Gobber shook his head at his students. “Ah, it’s the wings and tails you really want. If it can’t fly, it can’t get away,” he told them.

“A _downed_ dragon is a _dead_ dragon.”

At those words, Hiccup and Zenna looked at each other, their smiles gone.

_‘I’ve doomed him,’_ thought Hiccup. _‘He might be safe now, but… sooner or later, somebody’s going to find him and his mate. As long as he can’t fly, he won’t survive. Unless…’_

Zenna followed Hiccup’s gaze, looking down through the watch tower’s wooden slats and into the cold darkness of the now-dead forge, and realized what her surrogate brother was thinking. She locked gazes with him and discreetly turned her head towards the watch tower’s stairs.

Erland watched them, his sharp green eyes flickering in light of the fire. His lips twitched into a smile. He knew a cunning plan when he saw one.

Gobber then yawned. “Alright, I’m off to bed. You should be, too,” he informed the other teens. “Tomorrow we get to the big boys. Slowly but surely making our way up to the Monstrous Nightmare. But who’ll win the honor of killing it?” he asked a gleefully excited Snotlout, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, and Fishlegs.

Tuffnut confidently leaned back, crossing his arms behind his head. “It’s gonna be me. It’s my destiny. See?” he said, the others crowding around him to get a better look at…

“Your Mom let you get a tattoo?” Fishlegs gasped.

“It’s not a tattoo. It’s a birthmark,” Tuffnut clarified.

“Okay, I’ve been stuck with you since birth, and that was never there before,” Ruffnut remarked, unimpressed.

“Yes, it was. You’ve just never seen me from the left side until now.”

While the others were distracted by Tuffnut’s tattoo/birthmark, Hiccup and Zenna quietly slipped away. Erland chuckled to himself, “There go a pair of misfits.” Before noticing Astrid watching them. He gave her a pointed stare. “Suddenly curious as to where they're going or what they're up to? Hmph. Funny, you never even bothered to care at all about what they were doing before and, now, all of a sudden, you’re concerned about them, Miss 'Proper Warrior'?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Astrid said nothing but visibly shrank under Erland’s icy look.

* * *

The night air turned colder as the teens left for bed. As Gobber was dousing the bonfire, Erland approached him.

“So what new form of torture are you making them face tomorrow, Gobber?” he asked.

Gobber carefully ran his fingers through his mustache. “Ah, see there, I’ve got a wee problem with that. Tomorrow’s lesson is going to be with the Hideous Zippleback. Two-headed beast, twice as tricky.” The blacksmith’s eyebrows furrowed as he thought hard. “My plan was to split the young’uns into pairs. Problem is, I’ve got _seven_ recruits. I could put the odd one in with another team but, well, that wouldn’t be fair now, would it?” he explained.

Erland nodded, understanding Gobber’s dilemma then grinned. “Well, what if you had a new student?” he suggested.

* * *

Embla startled awake at the sound of fish being thrown onto the floor. Opening her eyes, she reared her head back and hissed.

“Easy there, Embla. It’s just me.”

Snorting in surprise, Embla saw Loki standing before her with a lantern in his right hand and an empty bucket in his left. A neat pile of fish and chicken legs sat at his feet.

**_“By the green blood of my ancestors…”_** Embla shook her head. **_“Do you have any idea how late it is?”_** she asked.

“Clandestine meetings are best done during the night,” Loki replied, shrugging, then left to fetch water. Upon returning, he watched Embla eat, cringing every time she threw up half-eaten fish and globs of acidic spit.

After a while, however, she seemed to recover some strength and finished the last of the fish. The light of Loki’s lantern illuminated her scaly hide, which was now turning from faded yellow to a light crimson.

“You seem to be doing better,” the former god observed.

**_“A few more stems of wild ginger and I should be well enough to leave this cave,”_** Embla told him, bringing her head closer. Her catlike eyes had a calming effect on Loki, who slowly lowered his lantern and set it down on the ground.

Feeling the magnetic pull of the Changewing’s hypnotic gaze, Loki managed to snap out of his daze and grinned. “Nice try,” he said to the stunned Changewing. “But it’s going to take more than hypnosis to mess with me.”

Embla fumed. **_“Damn it…”_** she muttered, looking away, embarrassed.

Loki let out a soft laugh, emerald orbs twinkling, then carefully extended his right arm until his palm was just an inch away from Embla’s nose.

Embla looked back at him and tilted her head. **_“What are you up to now, Serpent Tongue?”_** she asked.

“I’m not the only one on this island willing to help a downed dragon,” Loki replied, bowing his head.

**_“Eyes forward, Loki. I might just bite your hand off,”_** warned Embla, her yellow eyes narrowed into slits.

“By all means, do as you please.” Loki peered up at her, smiling softly. “I’ll still have one hand anyway,” he said with easy confidence. But, deep down, on the inside, he had his doubts.

He knew that this was a stupid idea, copying Hiccup and Zenna, but he was willing to take his chances. He’d lost all of his magic. He was little more than useless now without it.

Yet, oddly enough, fate had granted him the ability to talk to dragons.

He didn’t feel comfortable talking to Gothi about everything that’s been eating away at him ever since he woke up on Berk. Hiccup and Zenna… they wouldn’t believe him. And even if they did, chances were that they’d never want to go near him ever again once they found out the truth.

And, in spite of years of keeping secrets, Loki found himself wanting to find someone to confide in. He needed someone to talk to, to just _listen._

If that someone was going to be a dragon who’s begrudgingly allowed him to help her, then, by the Norns, he was willing to risk losing a hand.

So it was a great relief for Loki to feel Embla’s soft warm snout brush against his palm. He looked up into the Changewing’s eyes and smiled.

**_“You’re an odd one, Loki,”_** said Embla, her snout not leaving his palm.

“So I’ve been told,” Loki chuckled then yelped as Embla’s flexible tail suddenly wrapped around his waist and lifted him up and carried him to Embla’s side. He relaxed once he was back safe on the ground only to look bewilderingly about as Embla curled up around him.

The Changewing regarded him with a twinge of sadness. **_“I’ve lived for twenty years, and have only seen humans do nothing but capture and kill countless others of my kind. I’ve seen men set fire to the forests I’ve lived in and smash my sisters’ eggs. Twenty years… I’ve only known humans to be savages, brutal, ruthless…_**

****

**_“And now here you are, a god disguised as one of them, risking yourself to care for me while I’m stuck on this island of dragon killers…_ **

****

**_“Why?”_ **

****

Loki felt his face grow hot. “Can’t a god be a good Samaritan every now and then?” he asked and tried to squirm away only to be pinned down by Embla’s glowering stare.

**_“Don’t make me hypnotize you, Lie Smith. For once in your life, speak the truth and nothing but the truth,”_** said Embla with an air of finality.

Tearing his gaze away from Embla, Loki caved. “To tell you the truth… I don’t’ really know myself,” he whispered, squeezing his eyes shut. “But, hey, why not? I don’t have anything to do except wait for the Norns to restore me back to my true self, which, by the way, could take forever.”

Now it was Embla’s turn to look bewildered. **_“You mean they’ve stripped you of your magic?”_** she asked.

“All I ever wanted was to be my broth- to be Thor’s equal.” Clenching his fists, Loki proceeded to vent out all of his frustrations to the one soul willing to listen. “I did everything I could to prove to the All-Father that I was worthy to be his son. _Everything!_ Only to find out that I was nothing more than a stolen relic, locked up until he could use me. And for what?

“A peace treaty with Laufey! The leader of the Frost Giants! My-my _real_ father…” his voice broke at that moment.

Sighing, Loki slumped against Embla. “I was a runt, cast out by my own kind. Then I was wronged all because I tried to do something right. All my efforts in vain… So I let go… Fell off the Bifrost and, now, I’m stuck here. No magic, no family, no home…” he muttered then looked up at Embla, his eyes hollow.

“With regards to your first question, why I even wanted to help you in the first place… Maybe I just want to have another go at doing the right thing, maybe I’m just bored and being able to communicate with you has been the second most interesting thing to happen to me so far… Not like it’s going to make any real difference, though,” he admitted despondently.

For a minute, Embla stared at him. Then her eyes softened and she gently nuzzled Loki. **_“Well, if it means anything coming from me… I think you’re doing something right. And you are making a real difference. Most humans would have butchered me by now since I’m downed, too weak to fly away or put up much of a fight. You haven’t. And, perhaps this is long overdue but… thank you for helping me, Loki,”_** she said gently.

A small spark lit up Loki’s eyes. He smiled, gently stroking Embla’s head. **_“You’re welcome,”_** he said to her telepathically.

* * *

Back in the village, Hiccup and Zenna were busy. A sword and a shield, two things made for killing dragons, were both taken apart to create the unimaginable: a prosthetic tailfin for a downed dragon.

Hiccup hammered out the connecting rods for the tailfin’s skeleton while Zenna stitched together scraps of leather and oiled sailcloth to make the fin itself. Putting the components together, the two best friends looked at each other.

“We are breaking every single rule our tribe has when it comes to dragon killing, Hicc,” said Zenna, running a hand over the completed tail fin.

“I know, Zen, but…” Hiccup looked at the designs he had drawn up, the parchment harmlessly lying on the table while he held up the tailfin. “I can’t just let Toothless stay in the cove forever. He’s got a mate, probably a few babies back home… wherever home is for them…” he murmured.

“ _Toothless_?” Zenna raised an eyebrow. “Out of all the possible names you can give to the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself, you go with _Toothless?_ ” she asked, her violet eyes sparkling.

“Hey, he’s got retractable teeth and he’s toothless when he hides them away in his gums. The name makes perfect sense,” Hiccup replied, grinning.

Zenna laughed, shaking her head in amusement. “When you and Astrid have kids, I pray to the gods that _she_ names them,” she said jokingly, wheezing when Hiccup gently elbowed her in the ribs.

They left the forge late, Hiccup holding the tail fin, Zenna holding the rolled-up parchment containing the design plans. They bumped into Erland at the plaza, the young man taking one look at their cargo and smirking.

“I hope that Night Fury won’t mind you strapping that contraption onto his tail,” Erland said, gesturing to the tail fin.

Hiccup paled. He hadn’t thought of the possibility of Toothless rejecting his invention.

“Where’d you come from, Erland?” Zenna cocked her head to the side.

“Oh, I just went out for a little walk to get ready for bed,” Erland yawned. It was quite extraordinary, his mortal form needing eight hours of sleep. Back then, he could manage to stay awake for a full day or two without getting tired. “See you tomorrow!”

Hiccup and Zenna watched Erland leave. Glancing at each other, they both shrugged. It wasn’t strange to go out for walks at night. The only problem to worry about was the possibility of being attacked by dragons in the dark.

Still, Hiccup and Zenna thought as they went home, why did it feel like Erland was hiding something?


	11. Breaking All the Rules

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hiccup, Zenna, and Erland bond with the three dragons that will become their friends for life. Oh, and Erland joins Dragon Training.

**Chapter 11: Breaking All the Rules**

“What are you doing?”

“Shit!” Loki yelped and jumped, banging his head against the cupboard. Muttering curses under his breath, he whirled around to find Gothi standing in the kitchen, one hand on her hip.

The elder’s gray eyes narrowed. “That’s an awful lot of ginger you have there,” she said, noticing the fleshy yellow stems clutched in her ward’s hand.

“Um… Zenna needs some for cooking. She’s having a sleepover at her house and she’s invited me.” Loki clutched the stems of ginger closer to him, as if he were guarding a precious jewel. Embla needed these in order to heal, and he wasn’t going to let her down now that he had earned her trust.

“Hmmm…” Gothi looked Loki up and down before sighing. “Very well then. I hope she puts all of that ginger to good use,” she said and tottered over to the cauldron to prepare their morning oats.

Loki, so anxious to bring Embla her medicine, nearly fell off the edge of the hut as he dashed out the front door. He let the lift swiftly drop, getting rope burn as he slowed down when it neared the bottom of the mountain, then ran to the woods as fast as he could, running past Hiccup and Zenna.

“Where’s he going in such a hurry?” Hiccup shouldered the basket of fish he had procured for Toothless.

“Beats me,” Zenna said, shrugging, carrying her own fish basket.

* * *

To Loki’s surprise, Embla was already outside of the cave, drinking water from the stream.

“You look better,” Loki remarked, marveling at the Changewing’s appearance.

**_“I feel better, too.” _**Indeed, Embla had recovered her strength and her improved health showed in the deep crimson of her scales and the gleam in her bright yellow eyes. **_“And I see you’ve brought me more ginger, perfect,”_** she purred, taking the ginger pieces from Loki’s hand and chewing them.

Two minutes later, she vomited a final glob of acid-tinged saliva and gulped down water greedily.

**_“Aaaaahhh! Praise to the gods, I am now completely well!”_** Embla roared. A mischievous glimmer in her eyes, she pressed her body up against a tree and her skin turned a rich brown, effectively camouflaging her.

Loki let out an impressed whistle as Embla went through a myriad of color changes, melting into the gray rocks of the cave she stayed in, the green of the bushes, the cool blue of the stream. _‘The Book wasn’t kidding. She is truly the chameleon of the dragon world,’_ he thought as Embla went full cloak, her entire body turning invisible as she flew a few feet upwards.

**_“Embla is back, baby!”_** the Changewing roared triumphantly then landed in front of Loki, turning visible once again. **_“Well done, Serpent Tongue. As thanks for your help, I’ve decided to spare your life.”_**

****

“I greatly appreciate that,” Loki chuckled then began to walk away.

Embla tilted her head curiously. **_“Where are you headed?”_** she asked.

“To see if a friend of mine has managed to help a Night Fury fly again,” Loki said, turning around and giving Embla a mysterious smile.

Embla’s eyes widened and she quickly flew up and forward, landing in front of Loki. **_“Is your friend mad? Even a grounded Night Fury is still deadly. You’re telling me that you’re going to watch someone get killed?”_** she questioned him.

“Hiccup _is_ a bit… eccentric.” Loki shrugged. “But the Night Fury trusts him. I’m just going to make sure he doesn’t get thrown off the dragon’s back,” he said, folding his arms across his chest and giving Embla a challenging look. “And, by the way, you’re free to go. I’ve helped you and you’ve spared my life. That makes us even.”

Embla looked askance, growling softly. **_“I’ll come with you. N-not because I’m worried about you, Serpent Tongue! I’ll only go to observe, that’s all I want to do! Observe!”_** she said quickly.

Loki hid a smile as Embla’s red hide darkened. He found it rather sweet that Embla had some concern for his well-being, even if she was a dragon. “Well, come along then,” he said, walking in the direction of the cove.

Embla followed suit, body changing colors as she crept along trees, rocks, and dirt. It wasn’t long until they reached the cove. Hiccup and Zenna were already there, calling out to the two Night Furies.

“Oh Mrs. Night Fury… I’ve got a basket full of fish and I wanna share it with you…” said Zenna, placing her fish basket on the ground and tipping it over so all of the fish spilled out.

**_“TWO Night Furies?”_** Embla hissed softly, spotting the two black dragons emerge from their hiding places.

**_‘Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that. Now stay quiet and remain in full cloak. I want to surprise them,’_** Loki mentally whispered, watching Hiccup approach the male Night Fury.

“Hey, Toothless.” The name nearly made the God of Mischief snort. “I brought breakfast. I hope you’re hungry,” said Hiccup, tipping his fish basket over and letting its contents spill out.

**_“I’m starving!”_** Toothless rumbled, pushing his snout into the slimy pile of fish.

**_“Sea fish! Finally, something more filling than the little freshwater ones we’ve been eating,”_** Erika purred, biting into a large salmon. Zenna stood by and watched her eat, violet eyes glimmering with curiosity. Then, slowly, she approached Erika who glanced at her suspiciously.

**_“That girl is either brave or foolish to approach a dragon while it’s eating,”_** Embla observed.

**_‘Zenna’s no fool, Embla. Although she does have a tendency to take a lot of unnecessary risks,’_** Loki told her, seeing Zenna gently brush her hand against Erika’s side. To his relief, the dragoness didn’t mind the Fiersome girl petting her while she ate.

Hiccup was another story. The hapless young Viking was terrible at hiding the tailfin he had constructed, and his attempts to keep Toothless distracted were laughable. “Okay, that’s disgusting. Uh… we’ve got some salmon, some nice Icelandic cod, and a whole smoked eel,” he listed the names of the fish he and Zenna procured for the two as he slowly went around Toothless.

But at the mention of ‘eel,’ both Toothless and Erika roared in fright, and backed away from their breakfast.

Embla hissed, revealing herself for just a fraction of a second. **_“Idiots! Eels are poisonous to dragons!”_** she growled.

**_‘They don’t know that!’_** Loki glared at the spot where she was currently standing on.

Oblivious to the duo watching them, Hiccup and Zenna removed the eels they had placed in their baskets. At the sight of the black and yellow slithery creatures, the two Night Furies growled.

“No, no, no, no! It’s okay,” Hiccup said frantically, throwing the eel away. It surprised him to see such a fearsome dragon cower before something as small as an eel. “Yeah, I don’t really like eel much either.”

“I don’t like eels too. They’re way too weird-looking and they’ve got all those little bones you gotta be careful not to choke on,” Zenna said in agreement, throwing her eel away.

Calming down, the two Night Furies resumed eating. Zenna hummed softly as she stroked the female’s scales while Hiccup began to slowly circle around Toothless.

“Okay. That’s it. That’s it, just stick with the good stuff. And don’t mind me. I’ll just be back here… minding my own business,” the Hooligan heir mumbled, laying the tailfin down on the ground next to Toothless’ tail.

“It’s okay, girl. He’s not gonna hurt Toothless,” Zenna said soothingly when the female looked at Hiccup warily. In response, the female Night Fury warbled and tilted her head to the side to get a better look at the odd contraption Hiccup was trying to attach to her mate’s tail.

Toothless, too busy chowing down, wouldn’t stay still; and his tail kept swaying from side to side, preventing Hiccup from attaching the prosthetic. Finally, Hiccup managed to pin Toothless’ tail down by sitting on it.

“Okay… okay… There.”

Loki crossed his fingers while Embla looked on, interested.

Upon feeling the tail fin being attached to him, Toothless poked his head out of his now empty fish basket. He wagged his tail a little and then his eyes widened, and his wings slowly unfurled.

“Uh oh…” Zenna gulped, realizing that Hiccup was still on Toothless’ tail. “Hicc…”

“That’s not too bad. It works,” Hiccup mumbled, oblivious to the coming danger.

Without so much as a warning, Toothless took off with Hiccup literally on his tail!

“Whoa!” Hiccup clung onto Toothless’ tail for dear life. “No! No! No!” he hollered as the dragon began to climb upwards only to fall as the prosthetic tailfin wasn’t open to catch the wind.

“Open the fin! Open the fin!” Zenna yelled, waving her arms about like a madwoman, while Toothless’ mate looked on in awe.

Just before he and Toothless hit a rock wall, Hiccup opened the tailfin and they soared upward.

“Oh, thank Thor…” Zenna breathed out before yelping as the female Night Fury picked her up and tossed her onto its back. “Holy Shieeeeeldsss!” she screamed as the dragoness took off as well, carrying her on its back.

“Well I’ll be damned,” Loki whistled, watching the four from the ground.

Embla glanced at Loki, her yellow eyes glinting with mischief. **_“I think it’s quite unfair that you don’t get to experience the thrill of flight, Serpent Tongue. Perhaps I can give you a taste,”_** she purred, her tail wrapping around Loki’s waist.

“Wait, what?” Loki blinked before he was lifted off the ground and placed on Embla’s back. “Nonononono! Embla, nooo!” he exclaimed as the Changewing took off.

It was quite a surprise, for both Hiccup and Zenna and maybe even the two Night Furies, to see a screaming Erland rocketing into the air on the back of a Changewing. But the sensation of being on a dragon’s back and _flying_ made the two young Vikings forget about the spectacle.

Hiccup, in particular, was ecstatic to see that the tailfin was working. “Oh, my…! IT’S WORKING! YES! YES, I DID IT!” he cheered as Toothless soared over the cove’s pond.

Hearing Hiccup’s voice, Toothless looked behind him and saw the young Viking on his tail. **_“Get off, little human! You’re gonna get yourself killed!”_** he barked, although Hiccup couldn’t understand him, then threw Hiccup into the water. As soon as Hiccup was off, Toothless realized that he couldn’t steer. The tailfin had been rendered useless without Hiccup to open it, and down he went, hitting the water like a skipping stone until coming to a stop with a loud splash.

“It worked!” Zenna cheered, having gotten over the shock of the sudden flight, as the female Night Fury landed on the shore. “Hiccup, your invention worked!” she whooped, helping a now drenched Hiccup wade onto the shore.

“That was incredible!” Hiccup grinned like an idiot, his brown bangs plastered to his forehead.

“Heck yeah, it was incredible! We rode dragons, Hicc! _We rode dragons!_ ” Zenna proclaimed, hopping around her surrogate brother in an excited circle.

“PUT ME DOWN! I WANT TO GET OFF!”

Excitement was replaced by fear as Hiccup and Zenna both looked up to see Erland still on the back of the Changewing.

The poor ex-god was a nervous wreck, clinging onto Embla’s neck and trembling all over, his face drained of all color. “Embla, I want to go down! Put me down!” he all but begged, shutting his eyes. He could stand it. The altitude, the sight of the cove hundreds of feet below him, it was all bringing back horrible memories of the void below the Bifrost…

Stunned at her new friend’s reaction, Embla slowly descended and landed in front of Hiccup, Zenna, and the two Night Furies.

**_“We’re down, Serpent Tongue. You can open your eyes now…”_** Embla growled softly.

Opening his eyes, Erland breathed out a huge sigh of relief and flung himself off Embla’s back and onto the ground. He breathed in the sweet scent of the earth before slowly getting up and fixing a murderous gaze on the Changewing.

“How could you do that to me?!” he yelled in an outrage, making Embla flinch slightly. “I didn’t ask for you to take me on a flight!”

**_“I just wanted to show you my gratitude! Why are you so mad all of a sudden?”_** Embla huffed, indignant.

Just as he was about to really lose his cool, Erland heard Hiccup and Zenna call out his name and turned around. At the sight of the two, looking equal parts worried and shocked, Erland came to his senses.

Taking a deep breath, he faced Embla again. “…Forgive me. I overreacted,” he sighed then looked down at his boots.

**_‘I’m afraid of heights. While it was nice of you to try and repay me, I would prefer that you show me your gratitude while we’re on the ground…’_** he said to Embla using his mind.

Eyes widening in recognition, Embla slightly bowed her head. **_“My apologies, Serpent Tongue,”_** she replied, crooning when Erland gave her a tiny smile.

“Uh, Erland…?” Zenna piped up, looking at the Changewing warily.

Both Toothless and his mate narrowed their eyes at the new dragon and instinctively stepped in front of Hiccup and Zenna. Embla merely purred, showing no signs of aggression.

“Is that a Changewing?” Hiccup wondered out loud.

“Her name’s Embla,” said Erland nonchalantly, as if he hadn’t been panicking earlier, then smiled at Hiccup. “And I see that your contraption works, in spite of the need for improvement.”

Zenna cautiously held out her hand to Embla who cooed and pressed her snout against her palm. “Erland, how…? When did you even meet this dragon?” she asked.

“Around the same time you and Hiccup found Destin and Erika in the cove.” Erland covered his mouth, realizing what he just said.

Now it was Hiccup’s turn to be confused. “Destin and Erika? Who are you…?” he mumbled then gasped, looking at Toothless and Erika. “Wait, those are their real names? H-how do you know?” he looked at Erland in amazement.

**_“Tell them.”_** Embla nudged Erland. **_“You can always deny it when they decide to tell on you,”_** she suggested.

“They… told me,” Erland replied, cheeks turning a light pink.

"What do you mean... _'They told you'_?" Zenna asked slowly, trying to comprehend what Erland was telling her and Hiccup.

"It means exactly what I mean. You see... I... have this... gift... I can talk to dragons... and understand what they’re saying," Erland awkwardly explained as he felt his face really start to turn red. Admitting to Hiccup and Zenna that he had run away from home had been nerve-wracking. Admitting to them that he could talk to dragons made him want to fall into a hole and never come out again.

For a minute, Hiccup and Zenna stared. Then Zenna remarked, “That’s… incredible.” Making Erland raise an eyebrow. “You can actually _talk_ to _dragons_. That’s amazing! How do you do it?” she pressed, bouncing on her toes.

“I-I just can.” Erland shrugged. “I overhear them talking and I talk back,” he mumbled, scratching the back of his hand.

“Can they understand you when you’re talking?” Hiccup inquired, glancing at Tooth-Destin.

“Sometimes I open my mouth to speak, other times I just throw my thoughts to them. They understand me either way,” Erland told him.

Destin chose this moment to speak to Erland. **_“Would you mind telling the boy that the name ‘Toothless’ is a bit silly but that I like it, Serpent Tongue?”_** he warbled.

“He finds the name you have given him a little silly, Hiccup.” Erland smiled at the younger green-eyed boy. “But he doesn’t mind you calling him that,” he added.

Hiccup looked at the male Night Fury curiously. “A-are you sure you want me to call you Toothless?” he asked uncertainly.

The male Night Fury gave him an affectionate nudge with his head.

“Then it’s settled. From now on, he shall be called Toothless,” Zenna proclaimed then looked to the female Night Fury. “What about you, Erika? Are you happy with your current name? Personally, I find it interesting that you and Toothless have… very Viking-sounding names. I thought dragons usually called themselves things like ‘Fire Fang’ or ‘Swift Winds’ or something like that,” she rambled.

Erika let out a soft huffing sound that was equivalent to dragon laughter. **_“Most dragons do have names similar to the ones you just mentioned. Let’s just say my parents picked up a lot of words from humans and, for reasons unknown, thought it’d be a good idea to give me a Viking name,”_** she said, Erland translating her warbles and growls.

**_“But,”_** Erika gently nuzzled Zenna. **_“my mother used to call me her little striker because I’m a good shot. There’s no target that can escape me. Maybe you can apply a little creative spin on the word ‘striker’ and that’ll be my new name,”_** she suggested.

****

“Her mother used to call her ‘little striker.’ She’s wondering if you can put a little flair into the old nickname,” Erland said, stroking Embla’s head.

“Little striker… striker…Hmmm…” Zenna mused, rubbing her chin, thinking. After 30 seconds, she snapped her fingers. “How about _Stryka_?” she offered.

The female Night Fury smiled toothlessly. **_“It sounds perfect!”_** she yapped.

**_“I think it’s a beautiful name,”_** Toothless warbled, smiling as well.

“They like the name,” Erland told Zenna who grinned and turned to the female Night Fury.

“Stryka it is, then!” the Fiersome girl laughed.

**_“I like these two. They’re fun,”_** Embla hissed softly, allowing Hiccup and Zenna to come closer and touch her.

Erland couldn’t help but smile. Now he didn’t feel so much of an outcast for having such an odd gift. He trusted Hiccup and Zenna to keep this a secret from the village, the same way Embla now trusted him.

“How did you meet Embla, Erland? Really, how?” Hiccup questioned him, admiring the Changewing as she camouflaged herself against the cove’s rock walls.

“I found her in a cave. She was ill and, well, I couldn’t just let her waste away in there until somebody found her. So I tended to her until she was able to leave the cave and she came here with me,” Erland said, watching Embla play with Toothless and Stryka.

“And how long have you been able to communicate with dragons?” Hiccup raised an eyebrow.

“Two, maybe three weeks? I discovered my ability by accident not long after I ended up here on Berk,” Erland replied, shrugging.

Hiccup put a hand to his chin and his eyes widened as he remembered something. “That first day of training with the Gronckle… Was that _you?_ ” he asked, referring to the crucial moment where the Gronckle misfired.

Erland didn’t say anything, but his smile told Hiccup yes.

“You… you saved my life,” Hiccup said, admiration shining in his emerald eyes.

“I did it because it’d be a shame for Berk to lose one of its few intellectuals.” Erland playfully flicked Hiccup’s bangs out of his eyes. “Without you, Berk will eventually be ruled by Snotlout,” he chuckled.

“Oh, perish the thought! That sounds like a total nightmare!” Zenna gasped, pretending to faint, Hiccup and Erland laughing in agreement.

Embla, Stryka, and Toothless were still playing by the time the trio decided to leave.

“We’ll be back later,” Zenna told them, giving all three dragons pats.

“Hold on.” Erland picked up the two eels Hiccup and Zenna discarded earlier. “You two should hang on to these,” he suggested, the dragons growling and backing away from him.

Hiccup looked at the eels and frowned. “I’m not going to feed it to whatever dragon we’re going to face in training today, Erland. That’s just mean,” he said.

“And this feels like cheating,” added Zenna, eyeing the eels dubiously.

“You’re not going to feed it, you’re just going to scare it,” Erland told them and smirked. “And this isn’t cheating. It’s applying what you’ve learned.”

Seeing that their dragon-speaking friend had a point, Hiccup and Zenna each took an eel and slipped them under their vests before leaving the cove. By the time they arrived at the arena, the other recruits were there along with Gobber.

“Righty ho, before we begin, I want to introduce our new recruit!” Gobber announced.

The teens looked at each other, surprised. They were going to have a new classmate?

“Who?” asked Snotlout.

“Me.” Erland stepped forward, turning around to face the other teens, and smirked.

Ruffnut grinned. “Ooh, me likey,” she purred, to Tuffnut’s horror.

Hiccup and Zenna both gaped at Erland, who calmly inspected his daggers. Fishlegs whimpered, already intimidated by Erland’s presence, while Astrid looked defiantly at the newcomer.

Gobber patted Erland’s shoulder. “Lad here wants to learn more about our ways. I say we give him a shot. And with eight of you now, this’ll make today’s lesson easier,” he said then began to put the entire class into pairs, giving them all a bucket of water.

Tuffnut smiled like a dope as he tried to chat Zenna up. “So, what do you say, Zen? You and me? Teaming up?” he asked before Gobber dragged him away from the Fiersome girl and paired him with Snotlout.

“Tough luck, man,” Snotlout snickered, already going over to Astrid before she was led over to Ruffnut.

Hiccup was partnered with Fishlegs while Erland was paired up with Zenna.

“You gonna try talking us out of any tight spots?” Zenna whispered to Erland.

“Eh, I think you and Hiccup will be the ones doing that. Remember, you each have a secret weapon,” Erland whispered back, winking at her.

“How do you know the eels will work?”

“They will. Embla says that eels are poisonous to dragons.”

“Today’s lesson is about teamwork,” Gobber announced, releasing the Hideous Zippleback from its cage. Immediately, plumes of thick green gas rushed out, engulfing the arena in its noxious fumes. “Now, a wet dragon head can’t light its fire. The Hideous Zippleback is _extra_ tricky. One head _breathes_ gas, the other head _lights_ it. Your job is to know which is which.”

“Two heads, two-faced… kind of like you,” remarked Zenna as she and Erland stood back-to-back.

“How am I similar to a two-headed dragon?” Erland asked her, raising an eyebrow.

“You’re a snide introverted trickster on one day. The next day, you’re this kindhearted guy who’s concerned about my and Hiccup’s safety to the point that you actually signed up for dragon training, just so you can keep an eye on us.” Zenna looked over her shoulder and smiled. “That’s why you’re here, isn’t it?” she asked innocently.

_‘Perceptive, this one,’_ Erland mentally admitted to himself before scoffing, “Sentiment.” only to receive a soft chuckle from Zenna.

Fishlegs, in an attempt to keep calm, began spouting off the Hideous Zippleback’s statistics. “Razor-sharp, serrated teeth that inject venom for pre-digestion. Prefers ambush attack, by crushing its victims--”

“Will you please stop that?!” Hiccup hissed at him, already on edge.

Snotlout and Tuffnut were both mumbling nonsense to themselves to stay calm. Then Snotlout decided that it would be a good time to brag. “If that dragon shows either of his faces, I’m gonna…” he said before spotting a dragonesque figure lurking in the green gas. “There!” he shouted, and he and Tuffnut both threw all their water at the figure.

Two feminine yelps answered and a drenched Astrid and Ruffnut emerged from the fog.

“Hey! It’s us, idiots!” Ruffnut grumbled, soaked to the skin.

Tuffnut wasn’t too disappointed and proceeded to make fun of the girls. “Your butts are getting bigger. We thought you were a dragon,” he said, snickering.

“Not that there’s anything wrong with a dragonesque figure!” Snotlout said quickly before Astrid punched him in the face. Tuffnut only had a second to laugh at his friend’s misery before his sister threw her bucket at him and landed a clean hit.

“Those two are never going to find love if they keep behaving like buffoons,” Erland said dryly.

Zenna opened her mouth, about to agree with him before her sharp eyes spotted a Zippleback head moving through the gas. “Head!” she cried out just as the head opened its mouth, sparks flying off its teeth.

“That’s the lighter!” Erland gripped his bucket and took a few steps forward along with Zenna, the two of them ready to soak the Zippleback head. But the dragon cleverly ducked back into the gas stream.

“Come on you bastard…” Erland growled under his breath, scanning the arena for movement.

They heard Astrid and Ruffnut yelp and looked to their right just in time to see a tail knock them off their feet, followed by Tuffnut running out of the green mist, screaming, “OH, I AM HURT! I AM VERY MUCH HURT!” at the top of his lungs.

Suddenly the Zippleback’s tail came swinging out of the mist. “Jump!” Erland hollered to Zenna just as the tail knocked him off his feet, his partner quickly jumping just in time to avoid getting hit.

“You okay?” Zenna asked, seeing that Erland had lost all the water in his bucket.

“Man down! Zenna, avenge me…” Erland moaned from his spot on the floor, pretending to be mortally wounded to the Fiersome girl’s amusement.

“Chances of survival are dwindling into single digits now,” said Fishlegs nervously, seeing that he and Hiccup and Zenna were the only ones left with full buckets.

One of the Zippleback heads emerged from the mist, scaring the living daylights out of Fishlegs but not enough to keep him from throwing water at its face. The Zippleback growled, wisps of green gas coming out from between its teeth.

“Oh. Wrong head,” Fishlegs squeaked before the head sprayed him with gas.

“Fishlegs!” Gobber looked wildly from the screaming Ingerman running away to his scrawny apprentice as the spark-spitting head emerged.

“Now, Hiccup!”

With Zenna sprinting over to his side, Hiccup threw his bucket at the spark-spitting head… only to miss.

“Oh, come on!” Hiccup sighed, feeling like the gods were clearly messing with him.

Zenna flung her bucket at the Zippleback, missing as well. “Shoot…” she muttered.

Just as the Zippleback pounced on them, both heads snarling, Hiccup and Zenna heard Erland faintly calling out to them, “Eel!”

“Hiccup! Zenna!” Gobber hobbled forward, ready to rescue the two kids, before stopping and staring, slack-jawed and wide-eyed, as Hiccup and Zenna slowly stood up… and began to back the Zippleback into its cage.

Erland smirked, seeing the two eels hidden underneath the two young Vikings’ fur vests, and calmly watched the two frighten the dragon back into its cage.

“Back! Back! Back! BACK!” Hiccup threw his hands out in a shooing gesture. “Now, don’t make me tell you again! Yes, that’s right! Back into your cage.” He scolded the Zippleback, which reared both heads up in fear.

“We won’t ask a second time you two! Stay right there!” Zenna threatened, the eel draped over her shoulders like a scarf.

“Now think about what you’ve done.” Saying this, Hiccup tossed his eel into the cage, followed by Zenna’s eel, making the Zippleback cower and backpedal into its enclosure in a desperate bid to get as far away as possible from the dreaded things.

Closing the cage, Hiccup and Zenna turned around. They both bit back smiles upon seeing everyone, bar Erland, staring at them in shock. Fishlegs even dropped his bucket!

“Okay! So, are we done? Because Zen and I’ve got some things we need to, uh… Yep… We’ll… see-see you tomorrow!” Hiccup babbled before leaving the arena.

“Bye!” Zenna ran after him, a spring in her step.

“Well, this was fun.” Erland turned around to leave. “Great lesson, Gobber. I can’t wait to see what else you’ve got in store for us in the future. Ta!” he said, following the pair of misfits.

* * *

As soon as they were outside the village, the three of them broke into a run, laughing like a pack of hyenas, arriving at the cove all out of breath.

“Oh Holy Shields! Did you see…! The looks on their faces…” Zenna guffawed, clutching her belly.

“Erland, your plan actually worked!” Hiccup exclaimed, grinning like an idiot.

“You doubted me?” Erland gave a mock-gasp. “Oh, ye of little faith…” he said before snickering. “I have to admit, you two put on quite a show,” he praised the two.

The trio celebrated their little victory a couple of minutes more before Embla, Toothless, and Stryka came out of hiding.

**_“Why are you all smiling?”_** Toothless rumbled, bumping his snout against Hiccup’s tummy.

**_“Did something good happen?”_** Stryka rubbed her head against Zenna’s side.

Erland recounted to them the events that happened during dragon training, Embla cocking her head when he finished telling the story.

**_“Let me get this straight… You three are training to become dragon killers, but are using non-violent ways to subdue dragons…”_** she said, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.

Toothless and Stryka narrowed their eyes as well, backing away from Hiccup and Zenna. Once Erland translated Embla’s words for them, the two young Vikings panicked.

“W-well, she has a point. That whole thing with the Zippleback was sort of inspired by you three freaking out over the eels earlier. A-and, yeah, it’s true that we’re in dragon training… But that-that doesn’t mean we want to subdue you three! We don’t want to kill you either!” Hiccup stuttered, ears turning pink from both embarrassment and shame.

“To be honest… after meeting you two… Hiccup and I decided that we don’t actually want to kill dragons anymore,” admitted Zenna, her right hand going to her left bicep and squeezing it.

Toothless stepped forward, stance wary. **_“Then why are you still training to kill our kind?”_** he asked.

“To keep up appearances,” Erland interjected, making the dragons look at him curiously. “Look, they’re both well-known in their village. Hiccup’s the chief’s son. Zenna’s the daughter of a respected warrior family. If either of them quit dragon training, suspicions will be aroused and it won’t be long until someone finds out about the secret they’re hiding, which happens to be you two,” he explained.

Stryka’s eyes widened as she glanced at Hiccup. **_“The Chief? That large human with the fierce red beard? He’s your father?!”_** she growled.

“Believe me, I asked that very same question as well the first time I met him,” Erland deadpanned.

Even though Erland hadn’t translated Stryka’s question, Hiccup knew what she, and possibly Toothless and Stryka, was thinking. “Yeah, the Chief’s my dad… Course everyone doubts it whenever they see the two of us,” he mumbled dejectedly.

Zenna gently patted Hiccup’s shoulder in an attempt to comfort him.

Erland noticed the dragons’ wary looks dissolving into concern. **_‘He has a rocky relationship with his father. Best not to pry further,’_** he advised them.

One of Embla’s head tendrils raised up. **_“Kind of like you with Odin?”_** she whispered.

**_‘Don’t even go there.’_** Erland sent her a warning glare, before going over to Hiccup and throwing an arm over the scrawny boy’s shoulder.

“Hey, now, none of that. Your father’s not here, we’re free to do as we please, and you just showed everyone up in dragon training. This is a time to celebrate, to gloat a little,” he proclaimed, grinning at Hiccup. “Snotlout, in particular, looked like somebody had clubbed him over the head. Do you remember that?”

That coaxed a small laugh from Hiccup, who brightened up instantly. “We’re in the cove, having befriended three dragons – a Changewing and two Night Furies. And we just got back from dragon training where we used a nonviolent method to subdue a dragon… Gods, we’re really breaking some rules here, aren’t we?” he breathed out, shaking his head at the sheer craziness of it all.

“And something tells me that we’ll be breaking more rules as time goes on,” Zenna chuckled.

“Well, you know what they say,” Erland playfully tousled their hair, and looked at Embla, Toothless, and Stryka. “ _rules are meant to be broken._ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since there will be many moments where the dragons will communicate with Erland, I just want to post a little reminder that any bold and italicized line will mean that the dragons are communicating with him and vice versa.


	12. The Three Weirdos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hiccup, Zenna, and Erland decide to hold a singing competition and their dragons are the judges :)
> 
> Important Note: Just in case, I removed the song lyrics from this chapter to avoid plagiarism. But for those who are wondering what songs our trio of outcasts are singing, here they are:
> 
> Zenna - a slightly-modified version of "I'm Just Your Problem" from Adventure Time  
> Hiccup - "More Than Useless" by Relient K  
> Erland/Loki - "Monster" by Imagine Dragons

**Chapter 12: The Three Weirdos**

For the rest of the afternoon, they stayed in the cove and chatted with Embla, Stryka, and Toothless; Erland translating the dragons’ growls, whines, and rumbles. 

Then Hiccup asked Toothless and Stryka, “Okay, here’s something I’ve been wondering about. Why do you and your fellow dragons raid Berk?” and the two Night Furies stiffened, their wings tucking tightly against their backs.

Erland raised an eyebrow at them. **_‘What’s wrong?’_** he asked.

Toothless didn’t look him in the eye. **_“If we tell them, they’ll be in danger,”_** he rumbled.

Erland crossed his arms, frowning. **_‘What kind of danger?’_** he pressed but Stryka shook her head.

**_“The kind of danger that’ll get ALL OF US killed. For your sakes, please, don’t make us say any more,”_** the dragoness pleaded.

Sighing, Erland turned to Hiccup. “They won’t say anything,” he told him.

Hiccup looked at Toothless, who relaxed and gave him a gummy smile, and sighed. He had hoped they would get some valuable knowledge from Toothless and Stryka. If they could just figure out why the dragons raided, then maybe they could end the war without any more loss of life.

“Not even a little bit of info?” Zenna looked at Stryka imploringly only for the dragoness to shake her head.

“Let’s not push them, you two,” advised Erland, stroking Embla’s head as the Changewing lay beside him. Then he turned to Embla and asked, “What about you, Embla? Do you know anything about the cause of the raids?”

Embla, who had been dozing, opened one yellow eye. **_“I haven’t participated in any raids. Before I ended up here, I lived on an island populated by my kind. We rarely encountered other dragons,”_** she yawned.

Erland hummed at her answer, resting against Embla’s warm side. A few minutes of comfortable silence passed, the three Vikings enjoying the sounds of nature and the feeling of warmth emanating from the dragons curled up on the ground next to them.

Then Zenna gasped and straightened up. “Holy Shields, we forgot about our songwriting challenge! We were supposed to do that four days ago!” she exclaimed before running off.

“Where are you going?” Erland called out.

“To get my guitar! Be right back!” Zenna hollered, already climbing out of the cove.

Hiccup rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Well, I guess I better grab my violin.” He glanced sideways at Erland. “I’ve got a drum at my house. Do you need it?” he asked him.

Erland thought of the song he had written then nodded. Looking at the dragons, he got an idea. “Hey, perhaps we can let _them_ judge our songs?” he suggested, pointing to Embla, Toothless, and Stryka.

“I guess… if they want to, that is,” Hiccup said, getting up and looking at the dragons. “What do you say, you three? Would it be okay if you three served as the judges for our little songwriting challenge?” he asked politely.

**_“Us?”_** Stryka pointed to herself with a claw.

**_“Judging songs?”_** Toothless blinked.

**_“For a competition?”_** Embla’s lips curled up in a sly smile. **_“If there’s anything we dragons love apart from flying and fish, it’s a competition. Count me in,”_** she purred.

“They look interested,” Erland chuckled and joined Hiccup as he left the cove.

The three of them came back five minutes later, their instruments clutched in their hands. Zenna also had an ice block wrapped in wool, which she held against her black eye once they were all settled.

“Is it still hurting?” Hiccup asked worriedly.

“Not really. I just want the discoloration to go away now,” Zenna huffed, pushing her bangs to the right side of her face to hide her black eye. “You know I was originally going to sing a happy song. But after my fight with Astrid, I wrote something else because I needed to vent,” she remarked, putting down the ice and reaching for her guitar.

“Alright, ladies first,” Erland said, bowing to Zenna with a flourish as she went to stand in front of him, Hiccup, and their dragons.

Clearing her throat, Zenna started strumming her guitar and sang. She strutted about, strumming her guitar, and looking, for all the world, that she was cool as a cat sitting on a glacier. But, inside, she was a storm raging to be let out. She let every drop of anger she had towards Astrid fuel her voice and felt lighter with each verse she sang.

Zenna blushed as she finished singing and put down her guitar. It wasn’t the song she had originally planned on singing for their little contest. But, after what happened between her and Astrid, she needed an outlet for all the anger and hurt she had been feeling. “Well, that’s it. I-it’s a little short, I know but… it’s the best that I could come up with,” she mumbled shyly.

Hiccup and Erland both clapped, Toothless doing the same albeit a little awkwardly while sitting on his haunches. Stryka let out a happy trill and wagged her tail, giving the Fiersome girl a gummy smile.

“That was good. Full of soul and angst,” Erland mused, winking at Zenna, making her blush all the more.

“I think you did great, Zen,” Hiccup said, smiling softly.

Embla nudged Erland. **_“I’d like to hear the scrawny one sing,”_** she purred, gazing at Hiccup.

“Your turn, Hiccup,” Erland said, giving the Hooligan heir a playful push. “Embla insists,” he chuckled.

Gulping, Hiccup stood in front of them, his violin comfortable tucked under his chin and bow poised. “When I think about it, my song’s better suited for the guitar but… Oh well, here goes…” he mumbled to himself before weaving his bow through the violin’s strings. Hiccup felt his cheeks warm up. His voice was a little squeaky and nasal-sounding but he powered through with his song.

Erland and Zenna found themselves tapping their feet, and looked at each other and smiled.

Hiccup couldn’t help but grin as he saw the two playing their instruments along with him. His confidence boosted, he sang his heart out.

Toothless, Stryka, and Embla bopped their heads to the beat of the song, their tails thumping on the ground while Erland beat his drum and Zenna provided acoustic accompaniment to Hiccup’s violin.Erland and Zenna sang with Hiccup, their voices blending together in wonderful harmony.

Hiccup shut his eyes as he played a short solo on his violin, letting his words be carried off into the wind.

“I think we now know who the winner is,” Erland chuckled after they sang the last line.

“Nuh-uh! _You_ still haven’t performed your song, Erland!” Zenna reminded him.

Hiccup bowed grandly to the young man. “We await to hear your angelic voice, Erland the Brave,” he announced.

Facing his little audience, Erland was suddenly overcome with trepidation.

The song he had written for this challenge… was very revealing.

Would Hiccup and Zenna figure out the truth from it?

**_‘You can do it…’_ **

****

Erland’s eyes locked on Embla’s. The Changewing purred softly and gave him a smile that, oddly enough, reminded him of Frigga’s.

**_‘Sing your heart out, Serpent Tongue. Don’t let your fears stop you.’_ **

****

Nodding slightly, Erland handed Hiccup the drum and borrowed the young Viking’s guitar. “Give me a beat,” he instructed.

Hiccup tapped on the drum, creating a slightly fast tempo. Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, Erland opened his mouth and sang. He took a step back, looking at Hiccup and Zenna fearfully.

Hiccup and Zenna’s ears perked up as Erland continued to sing. Looking at each other, they couldn’t help but feel like Erland was trying to tell them something.

Turning his back on them, Erland placed his hand over his chest, feeling the shame and fear well up inside him.

Following Zenna’s example, Erland let his emotions fuel his words as he turned around to face his friends again, singing his heart out. He had written the song during one of the few quiet moments he had on Berk when he allowed himself to think about the lie that was his entire life. Really, he felt like he was living a life in both his past and present lives.

In the past, he had been lied to and had been led to believe that he was an Asgardian.

In the present, he was pretending to be someone that he was not and hiding his real identity from the few people he could call his friends.

And all that internal conflict and rage spilled itself out onto the page where he had penned down the song he was now singing.

Erland lifted his head up, looking directly at Embla, Toothless, and Stryka. The three dragons stared back, their expressions showing understanding. At least, with the dragons, he didn’t need to hide…

When he noticed Hiccup and Zenna looking at him with curiosity and worry, his heart felt like it was leaping into his throat. He wanted to tell them… but he was afraid of how they would react.

Would they accept him?

Or would they call him the very thing his song was talking about? A monster?

Upon finishing his song, Erland bowed his head. He felt… better. As if the weight of his secret had diminished somewhat. When he looked up, he saw Hiccup and Zenna watching him with curious eyes.

Then Hiccup coughed. “Um… Erland, is there something you want to tell us?” he asked awkwardly.

Erland chewed his lip thoughtfully. Should he tell them?

“Well… yes, but…” He scratched the back of his hand, eyes looking anywhere but directly at the two young Vikings. “I’m not… I’m not sure if-if I am ready,” he admitted, cheeks turning red.

“Well,” Zenna’s gaze was soft. “you don’t have to worry about a thing, Erland. When you’re ready to tell us, we’ll listen,” she said gently.

“Thank you,” Erland breathed out before focusing on the dragons. “Alright, you lot. Whose song was the best?”

Embla, Toothless, and Stryka looked at each other, nodded, then formed a huddle a few feet away from the three. Erland, Hiccup, and Zenna couldn’t help but chuckle at how seriously they were taking their job.

After a minute of intense deliberation, the three dragons trotted over to Hiccup and patted his head.

**_“We think Hiccup’s song was the best,”_** declared Embla. **_“Your song and Zenna’s, while soulful, were a little depressing.”_**

****

**_“But I liked how you were able to express your anger in a less destructive way, Zenna.”_** Stryka nuzzled the young Fiersome girl.

**_“Hiccup’s song was true to himself and very inspiring.”_** Toothless wagged his tail, showing off his prosthetic. **_“And don’t ever think of yourself as useless, Hiccup. I mean… look what you did! You fixed my tail! If anything, you deserve to be called ‘Hiccup the Useful’!”_**

****

Once Erland had translated their verdict, Hiccup’s entire face turned as red as a Monstrous Nightmare on fire.

“Nice work, Hicc! You got the approval of the chameleon of the dragon world _and_ the unholy offspring of lightning and death themselves! You should be really proud,” Zenna cheered.

Hiccup shyly smiled but, once he met Toothless’ eyes, gave the Night Fury his brightest smile.

Toothless, the very dragon whom he had robbed of flight, thought he was useful… Him! A walking accident, the runt, the unappreciated, the oddball! He, who did more harm than good in the eyes of his village, was regarded as useful by a dragon!

“Thank you, Toothless…” whispered Hiccup, gently resting his hand against the Night Fury’s nose. “And I promise you that I’m not going to stop until you can fully fly again. I won’t ever give up.”

Toothless cooed and nuzzled the boy’s face, chuffing when Hiccup giggled.

* * *

The afternoon came and went. Upon arriving at the village, Erland, Hiccup, and Zenna parted ways to get ready for the sleepover.

When Erland arrived at Gothi’s hut, he was Loki again. “I’m back!” he said, stepping through the doorway. The sweet smell of cloudberries greeted him in the kitchen.

Gothi was making cloudberry tarts. She smiled when her young ward entered. “You know… I was expecting you to best everyone at training today,” she remarked.

Loki stopped, halfway up the steps to his loft. “I don’t _need_ to prove myself superior to anyone here. Why would I when I already know that I am superior?” he asked before going up to his room to carve another notch into the bedpost and change.

Gothi chuckled, taking the tarts out of the oven. When Loki came back, dressed in new clothes, and a knapsack over his shoulder, she placed the tarts in a clay bowl and covered it with a cloth. “Here. Take these tarts and share them with Hiccup and Zenna. You three deserve a treat after today,” she told him.

Nodding, Loki took the bowl and headed out.

Gothi followed him out to the porch and smiled as she watched him go down the mountain using the lift. Looking up at the skies, the elder smiled. “The winds of change are set to blow…” she murmured to herself before heading back inside.

* * *

“And he was like,” Hiccup flexed his arms and went, “ _The sun was in my eyes, Astrid! What do you want me to do, block out the sun? I could do that, but I don’t have time right now!_ ” in his best Snotlout voice.

Erland and Zenna laughed, holding onto each other for support so they wouldn’t fall over.

“Ohhh, that was rich!” Erland gasped out, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye.

“Hiccup, you are truly _the_ Master of Impressions,” Zenna giggled, taking a bite out of her cloudberry tart. “Mmmmm! These cloudberry tarts are _hea-ven-ly!_ Erland, please send Gothi our thanks.”

“That I will, Zen, that I will,” Erland said graciously as they all relaxed in front of the hearth in the den.

Their sleepover had kicked off with a sumptuous dinner of Zenna’s succulent baked chicken with bread stuffing paired with Hiccup’s extra rich and creamy cheese dip for their bread. Gothi’s cloudberry tarts were their dessert.

After the meal, they drew pictures of their dragons, played their instruments, with Erland receiving more violin lessons from Hiccup, then proceeded to reenact some of their classmates’ most hilarious epic fails in dragon training.

“I’m looking forward to seeing what other kinds of buffoonery Snotlout’s going to get himself into,” Erland remarked as he sat, full and happy, in front of the warm hearth.

“Knowing Snotlout, he’ll probably poke a sleeping dragon with a stick just for fun and get his butt roasted,” said Hiccup, allowing himself the luxury of making fun of his stupid cousin.

“I’d pay my weight in gold to see that happen.” Zenna sighed contentedly and lay on her stomach, weight resting on her elbows. “This is nice. Having a sleepover. I haven’t done this in a while,” she said quietly.

“When was the last time you had a sleepover?” Erland cocked his head.

“Three years ago… back when my brother was still alive,” Zenna admitted, gazing into the flames with a faraway look.

Hiccup looked at Zenna, a sympathetic smile on his face.

Erland mulled over his words carefully before deciding to ask, “What was Elias like?”

Zenna looked at him, her eyes suddenly brightening up. “Eli was awesome. He was funny, smart, and a little bit cocky to be honest. Always looking for the next adventure…

“Sometimes he forgot to look before he leaped, which usually ended up with him and us getting into trouble. But…” Zenna suddenly stood up. “Wait here,” she said before going upstairs.

“Elias was like a brother to me,” Hiccup said, picking up a charcoal pencil and twirling it about in his hand. “Whenever Snotlout or the Twins picked on me, he’d always step in to protect me. He taught me how to take pride in my skills as an artist and a blacksmith, helped me build up my endurance by taking me on hikes with him and Zen… you know, typical big brother stuff,” he shrugged then smiled when Zenna came back with her family portrait.

“He was our hero,” Zenna said, showing Erland her family’s painting. “Whenever Hicc and I felt sad, he did whatever he could to make us happy.” She pointed to her brother in the painting.

“When he died… I almost killed myself.”

Erland’s eyes widened and zeroed in on the cloth strips wrapped around Zenna’s arms. Had she…?

“Oh no, no, no! I didn’t mean…” Zenna saw Erland looking at her arms then blushed before quickly unwinding the strips of cloth around her arms to show uncut skin. “I didn’t cut. Self-harm was…” the Fiersome girl looked away, unsure. “I-If this is making you uncomfortable, I’ll stop,” she said hastily.

“No… I-it’s fine,” Erland mumbled, scooting closer to Zenna and gently placing his hand on hers, making the girl look at him. “Something tells me you need to get this out of your system. I’ll listen.”

Glancing at Hiccup, who settled next to her and gently pressed a kiss into her hair, Zenna took a deep breath.

“Losing Elias messed me up, like big time. The world seemed to lose all of its color, its magic, its meaning. I couldn’t go to sleep without having nightmares about his death. I barely ate. I didn’t talk to anyone, not even my parents or Hiccup who were also mourning. It got to the point where… where I thought that the only way for me to be happy was to throw myself off a cliff so I could die and be with my brother again,” said Zenna, sighing when Hiccup squeezed her hand reassuringly.

“Good thing you stopped me,” she said to the Hooligan heir who smiled and embraced her.

“If you died, I would have lost my will to live, Zen,” Hiccup said softly.

Erland watched the two embrace, suddenly feeling like he was an intruder. He gave the two their space, yet something in his heart yearned to comfort the two youths who had accepted him regardless of his dubious origins.

And Elias… he wished he could have met him, despite the fact that he was now probably dining in the halls of Valhalla. Elias sounded like he had been a great big brother to both Hiccup and Zenna.

His mind wandered to Thor, and the big oaf’s attempts to strengthen their bond as brothers in the past.

They had played all sorts of games together as children, had snuck desserts into their rooms before meals under the servants’ noses, and even stuffed pillows into their beds to make decoys so they could sneak out and explore the palace late at night.

When they hit adolescence, they would go around Asgard, playing tricks on Heimdall and anyone else they decided to mess with until they were caught and sent back to the palace.

Frigga would always give them a firm scolding before sending them off to their rooms. Odin would do the same. Sometimes he would give them punishments such as scrubbing all of the pots and pans in the kitchen or cleaning Sleipnir’s stable. Other times, especially when they were children, he would just laugh and pat their heads.

_‘I’d forgotten about those times… Now I’m suddenly remembering them…’_ thought Loki as he looked at Hiccup and Zenna, brother and sister not by blood but by bond.

If they could have a tight-knit bond, unbroken in spite of tragedy, then why did he and Thor drift apart? What changed between them? Had it been Odin? Had it been Thor?

Had it been… himself?

His thoughts were interrupted by Zenna. “Well, it’s been two years. We’ve both managed to heal and move on. Sure, the pain of losing Eli will never go away… but Hiccup and I have vowed to carry on and have each other’s backs no matter what,” the Fiersome girl declared before holding up her hand. “Weirdos for life!”

“Weirdos for life!” Hiccup echoed, high-fiving her, then grinned at Erland.

“I haven’t reached that level of oddity yet,” Erland scoffed, but his sharp green eyes were laughing.

Hiccup and Zenna merely rolled their eyes and smiled. _‘He’ll warm up to the idea, eventually,’_ they thought.

Suddenly, Zenna got a mischievous gleam in her eyes. “THE FLOOR IS LAVA!” she shouted before leaping onto a chair followed by Hiccup.

They didn’t expect Erland to calmly get up on the table. “What? I’ve played this game before,” he said, recalling the times he and Thor would play ‘The Floor is Lava’ with Sif and the Warriors Three when they were children. He used to create illusions to make the floor really appear like lava whenever they played the game, which made it all the more fun.

* * *

Anyone passing by the Fiersome house could hear the sounds of laughter coming from inside the house.

Astrid, Fishlegs, Ruffnut and Tuffnut, and Snotlout just so happened to be passing by. They looked through the window and saw Hiccup, Zenna, and Erland jumping around on the furniture like kids all high on sweets.

“They look like they’re having fun,” Ruffnut mumbled, giggling when she saw Erland jump and land on the floor and let out a shriek as if he had been burned.

“Why can’t we do stuff like that?” Tuffnut wondered, watching a gleeful Zenna hop from chair to table.

“Cause we’re _Vikings,_ duh,” Snotlout sniffed. “We don’t do kid stuff,” he said yet he also looked at his cousin having fun… and wished that he could play too.

“It’s strange. Even when we don’t let them join in… whatever we do when _we_ hang out, they… always find a way to have fun together…” Fishlegs said quietly just as Hiccup landed on top of Erland, followed by Zenna.

Astrid didn’t say anything but watched closely. Hiccup, Zenna, and Erland were now all sprawled out on the floor in a fit of giggles.

_‘They look so… happy…’_ the Hofferson shield-maiden thought.

She and the other teens sometimes got bored hanging out together, so they usually tried to spice things up by picking an activity they could all do… which usually ended up in arguing over whose activity was better. They may hang out together but they hardly even consider each other friends. They were more like a herd of sheep just following each other around.

But Hiccup, Zenna, and Erland... they could have no plans whatsoever and still find a way to enjoy each other’s company.

Even when Astrid, the other teens, and pretty much everyone in the entire village, saw them as weirdos, those three just carried on and had fun together…

It was as if they had been friends since birth, and Hiccup and Zenna had only known Erland for less than three weeks! Now the newcomer was hanging out with them as if he’d been doing so his entire life.

_‘They’re weirdos… but at least they have each other…’_ Astrid thought, feeling just the slightest touch of envy in the way that Hiccup could give Zenna a hug or a kiss on the cheek so easily without making it look like he and the Fiersome girl were romantically linked.

“We should go,” Astrid said shortly and left, the others following her like lost sheep following a shepherd.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Read and Review whenever and whatever you want! Thanks for all the kudos and views! Hope to see some feedback for this story soon.
> 
> -GuardianDragon98


	13. Improvements

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which The Three Weirdos begin to take flight and Astrid steadily grows suspicious of them.

**Chapter 13: Improvements**

Loki woke up with a gasp, bangs plastered to his forehead with cold sweat. Another nightmare of him falling off the Bifrost. Sitting up, he saw that the sun had risen, its rays coming through the one window that had been left open last night.

Hiccup and Zenna had yet to awaken, the two of them snoozing on the pile of pillows and blankets they had made on the floor. Loki smiled to himself, noticing Hiccup essentially cuddling Zenna in his sleep, the Fiersome girl curled up against him just like a baby.

Getting up, Loki folded up his blankets neatly and went to the kitchen to make breakfast. There was still half a loaf of bread left over from last night and he toasted six slices, slathering them with butter and blueberry jam. For the savory, he hardboiled three eggs and fried some bacon he found in the kitchen cupboard. A jug of yak milk and breakfast for three was ready.

Hiccup and Zenna woke up to the delicious smell and assisted him in setting the table without a single word. They had had a grand time last night and were now getting ready for a good breakfast. With things going so well for all three of them, they hardly needed to talk about it.

It was only halfway through their meal did they start to talk.

“We know the tailfin works as long as someone’s on Toothless’ back, keeping it open,” Hiccup said thoughtfully. “Maybe I can make a saddle. That’ll keep me from sliding off of Toothless’ back… if he’ll let me ride him, that is.”

“I’ll talk to him and see if he’ll allow it,” said Loki, assuming his Erland identity once more. He smiled, jade eyes glimmering. “Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third – Dragon Trainer and Dragon Rider… has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?” he remarked.

Hiccup blushed. The image of him sitting astride a majestic Night Fury was certainly incredible to think about but was sure to be a disaster if he ever did it in public.

“I wonder if Stryka will allow me to ride her…” Zenna mused, taking a sip of milk.

“They both trust you, do they not? I’m sure that, with permission, they will allow you to ride them,” Erland told them both.

“What about you and Embla?” Hiccup asked him.

Erland’s stomach lurched.

“Yesterday, when we all flew for the first time, you were _terrified_.” Zenna’s violet eyes widened. “You’re afraid of heights, aren’t you?” she exclaimed.

“Yes, I know. Your point?” Erland fumed, his cheeks turning bright red.

“I can help you with that,” Zenna said, smiling sympathetically. “I used to be afraid of heights, too. I actually had crippling acrophobia when I was a kid. But I got over it.” She shrugged.

“Thanks to Elias and your ex-boyfriend,” Hiccup added.

“Eret is _not_ my ex-boyfriend. He is my _childhood sweetheart_ , Hicc,” Zenna said, giving her surrogate brother a half-hearted glare.

Erland raised an eyebrow at the mention of this Eret character but thought nothing of it. “So how _did_ you get over your acrophobia, Zenna?” he inquired.

“Exposure therapy.” Zenna ran a hand through her bedhead. “Started out small by climbing ladders and sitting on rooftops until I didn’t feel like hurling my lunch whenever I looked down. What really cured me of my acrophobia was climbing The Sky Giant, the tallest tree growing in my village. But, since we don’t have 50-feet tall ash trees growing around here on Berk, we’ll have to settle with getting you on Embla’s back and seeing how high she can fly,” she said, smirking at how quickly the color drained out of Erland’s face.

“Let’s start with getting me used to looking down Gothi’s front porch before we do the death-defying crazy stuff, please?” the young man squeaked, much to Zenna and Hiccup’s amusement.

* * *

Gothi knew there was something going on with Loki, her apprentice, and Stoick’s son. Not long after she had witnessed Hiccup and Zenna subdue the Hideous Zippleback during training, her young ward began to join them more frequently in activities.

Every morning, Hiccup and Zenna would come to her hut, drag Erland out of bed, and make him look over the edge of the cliff her house was built upon. Oftentimes, her young ward would turn green then rush back inside to vomit. Hiccup and Zenna would wait while Erland heaved, discussing how long he managed to stay relatively calm and what else they could do.

Walking around the village, Gothi would catch sight of the two misfits coaxing Erland to climb a ladder or sit on the roofs of their houses. It made the elder chuckle seeing the lad constantly looking down to make sure that Hiccup and Zenna hadn’t left him.

If only Gothi knew about the _other_ methods Hiccup and Zenna were using to help Loki get over his fear.

* * *

It was decided that they would all make saddles for the dragons. Toothless and Stryka’s saddles were roughly the size of horseback riding ones; Embla’s was more stripped-down, made with softer leather and covered with fine sky blue cloth to avoid irritating the Changewing’s skin and to provide some form of camouflage.

A smaller saddle, Erland had posited, would be a lot harder to spot in the sky. Given Embla’s ability to go full cloak, it was best to strip down the saddle and color it blue so it could blend in.

“Though I wonder how the people of this island would react if they saw me sitting on nothing and flying through the air,” Erland wondered, laughing at the mental image.

* * *

Once the saddles were made, getting them _on_ Toothless, Stryka, and Embla was… challenging.

“Hey!”

“Aw, come on! Get back here!”

Embla hissed with laughter. **_“Silly humans. Like they’ll be able to ride us like horses,”_** she said to herself.

Erland smirked, holding the saddle, and faced a rock wall. “Found you,” he said, surprising the Changewing into showing herself.

**_“Damnit…”_** Embla chided herself as Erland put the saddle on her. She looked at him curiously. **_“I thought you were afraid of heights?”_**

**_‘Hiccup and Zenna are helping me overcome my fear. Sitting on your back while you fly might help me get over it,’_** Erland transmitted to her, watching Hiccup and Zenna finally get the saddles on Toothless and Stryka.

Embla rolled her eyes and gently brushed one of her antennae against Erland’s cheek. **_“You’re really fond of those humans, aren’t you?”_** she asked him.

“A-am not!” Erland stuttered, blushing when Hiccup and Zenna glanced in his direction. At Embla’s smug smirk, he scowled. “Let’s just get this over with…” he muttered.

* * *

Flying around the cove was quite enjoyable. He didn’t feel sick when he looked down at the pond to admire his and Embla’s reflections in the water. And, unlike Hiccup and Zenna, Erland possessed the awareness of not having a safety cord to keep him connected to the saddle which prevented him from falling into the pond.

Zenna fell right off of Stryka’s back when the dragoness did a loop, landing in the water with a splash. Hiccup and Toothless followed suit, after the former yanked on the rope being used to keep the latter’s tailfin open a bit too much.

“We’re going to need harnesses,” Erland deadpanned as Embla landed on the pond’s shore with Stryka.

* * *

Making harnesses took them another night. But, the next day, all three of them had safety cords tied around their waists which latched onto their saddles’ hooks.

While Embla and Stryka had no problem flying around at top speeds with Erland and Zenna riding on their backs, Toothless and Hiccup still couldn’t synchronize with each other. Flying too fast for Hiccup to properly work the pedal, Toothless crashed into a field of tall grass.

Unlatching himself from the saddle, Hiccup combed his way through the grass, which gave off a sharp herbal-y garlic smell, and found Toothless on his back. The male Night Fury was in Valhalla, growling contentedly as he rolled around in the grass.

Embla and Stryka joined him, their faces blissful as they rolled around.

Picking a clump of the grass, Erland recognized it as the strange grass he found during one of his walks. Seeing how relaxed the dragons were, he nibbled a few blades. A savory garlic taste filled his mouth followed by a cool minty burst. After chewing a few more blades, he felt light on his feet.

“Why are you eating that grass?” Zenna asked him, bewildered.

“I just feel like doing it,” Erland replied, grinning as the effects of the grass began to show as he skipped through the fields.

“Get that out of your mouth.” Zenna put her hands on her hips.

Erland stuffed the rest of the clump into his mouth, his laughter muffled as Zenna started chasing him.

“Erland, I mean it! Spit it out!”

Hiccup watched them run around then focused his attention on the grass. Judging by Toothless, Stryka, and Embla’s relaxed states, the grass had to be similar to catnip.

_‘I’ll call this plant… Dragon Nip,’_ thought Hiccup, pocketing a clump of the plant.

Maybe he could use it to calm down the dragons in the arena during the next training session…

“Hiccup, help me catch Erland before he becomes addicted to drugs!”

Zenna’s frantic yell brought Hiccup out of his musings and he turned, seeing Erland – his mouth stuffed with Dragon Nip – merrily skipping away, staying out of Zenna’s grasp. He walked over to the duo, sticking his foot out to trip up Erland which gave Zenna the opportunity to pin him down and pry his mouth open.

A sandwich, an apple, several cups of water, and a few slaps on the face finally brought Erland out of his high. “Wow… If you two only knew of the colors that I saw…” he mumbled dazedly.

“Erland, please don’t do that again, okay? We don’t know how potent the effects of Dragon Nip are on people,” Hiccup chided him.

“Hey, I found that plant first. Why can’t I name it?” Erland pouted.

“Well if you hadn’t been high on Dragon Nip, you would have gotten the chance,” said Zenna, flicking him on the ear.

“Hmph,” Erland turned his nose up. “fine, I won’t eat Dragon Nip again.” He glanced at Hiccup and gave him a tiny smile. “I like the name, by the way,” he said.

* * *

During the next training session, the teens faced the Gronckle. Snotlout, Fishlegs, Erland, Zenna, and the Twins had already been taken out, leaving Hiccup and Astrid.

Hiccup pulled the clump of Dragon Nip he had hidden in his vest just as the Gronckle charged, holding it up for the Gronckle to sniff. One whiff of the grass rendered the Gronckle docile as it lay on its side, following Hiccup’s hand as he rubbed Dragon Nip into its nose.

The crowds around the arena grew bigger, all of the spectators gawking at how scrawny Hiccup had managed to subdue such a large dragon.

Could it be that Stoick’s useless heir was beginning to prove himself?

Outside the arena, the rest of the trainees surrounded Hiccup and bombarded him with questions. They could hardly believe it! To think they used to think of him as useless!

“Hiccup, what was that? Some kind of trick? What did you do?” Fishlegs asked, eyes wide.

“How’d you do that?” Tuffnut echoed.

“It was really cool,” Ruffnut said.

“I’ve never seen a Gronckle _do_ that before!” Snotlout exclaimed, awestruck.

Erland and Zenna shared secret smiles. _‘If only they knew…’_ they thought before following Hiccup as he yelped, “Uh, I left my ax back in the ring. You guys go on ahead. I’ll catch up with you!” passing by a glaring Astrid.

“Hicc, you didn’t even _bring_ your ax!” Zenna giggled as she, Erland, and Hiccup ran to the cove.

* * *

The Dragon Nip was just the beginning of the many tricks the trio would learn to use from spending time with their dragons.

On a warm afternoon, after taking off the saddles, the three Vikings gave their dragons some good scratches.

**_“Yes… Oh yeah… right there…”_** Stryka purred, stretching out like a cat as Zenna scratched her neck.

**_“Ooh, yeah… That feels good. Keep going, Serpent Tongue…”_** Embla closed her eyes, relaxing while Erland gently scratched the top of her head.

“Whatever you say, Embla,” Erland said, rolling his eyes.

Toothless growled in pleasure as Hiccup vigorously scratched his neck, behind his ears… his sweet spot just below his chin.

Wham! The Night Fury slumped onto the ground, asleep.

_‘Oh gods, what did I do to him?!’_ Hiccup thought, internally panicking, before hearing Toothless let out a happy rumble in his sleep.

“Interesting…” said Zenna, scratching Stryka under the chin and obtaining the same result.

The same thing happened to Embla, much to Erland’s amusement. “I think we’ve discovered their weak spots,” he chuckled, watching the three dragons sleep.

It was a good time for a nap, with the weather warm enough to make even the most stalwart Vikings drowsy, and the three of them curled up against their dragons and slept, Erland in the middle with Hiccup on the left and Zenna on the right.

How long they slept, Erland didn’t know, but when he woke up, the first thing he noticed was that Hiccup and Zenna both had their heads resting on his lap.

A strange, foreign feeling suddenly filled his chest as he gazed at Hiccup and Zenna’s sleeping faces. Loki felt his face grow hot. Without a doubt, he was blushing. He wanted to wake them up but, instead, gently rested his hands on their heads, feeling the softness of their hair as he gently petted them.

_‘I’m becoming soft because of these two mortals…’_ Loki thought, sighing.

But instead of feeling repulsed by himself, he felt… _happy._

* * *

Training with the Nadder allowed the three weirdos to work together. Huddled under the Nadder’s blind spot, they took turns scratching the dragon while a screaming Astrid charged forwards.

“Come on, come on, come on… Aha!” Zenna found a good spot and scratched, sending the dragon crashing down in a stupor.

Astrid could only look at the trio, utterly flummoxed, while the crowds cheered.

* * *

That night, people rushed into the Meade Hall to sit as near as they could to the miracle that was Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III.

A table away, Astrid fumed and slammed her cup onto the table. How could Hiccup have gotten so good so suddenly? How could she let him beat her? The Fearless Astrid Hofferson!

Looking at Hiccup, who awkwardly talked to some of his new admirers, Astrid felt all the anger suddenly drain out of her. _‘He doesn’t enjoy the attention… Figures, he’s always been so quiet, so soft-spoken and gentle…’_ she thought, her insides turning into lead when she remembered how badly she had treated him at the start of training.

_‘Maybe the gods have decided to punish me for being so cruel…’_ Astrid thought, startling when Zenna met her eyes. The Fiersome girl’s black eye had already healed nicely, the skin around her right eye now back to its normal color.

Zenna noticed Astrid looking at Hiccup then, to the Hofferson’s surprise, moved a bit and patted the seat next to her, inviting her to come sit.

Astrid was speechless. After insulting Elias’ memory, throwing verbal abuse at Hiccup, and causing her bodily harm, Zenna was giving her another chance!

She was about to get up and join Zenna at the table when another girl sat in it. Zenna gave the girl a pointed glare before looking at Astrid with an apologetic smile. She still waved her over, inviting her to sit, but Astrid knew that she had lost her chance. With a resigned sigh, she took her plate and left the Meade Hall.

“You still want to give her another chance?” Erland questioned Zenna, watching the Hofferson girl leave with a barely disguised scowl.

Zenna looked him directly in the eye. “Everyone deserves a second chance,” she said simply, turning away, not noticing the shock in the young man’s jade eyes.

* * *

Hiccup watched in amusement as Toothless chased the little dot of light he had made by bouncing sunlight off his little hammer. He’d already made dozens of drawings of Toothless, but he had a feeling that his next one was going to be his favorite. The Night Fury looked so adorable chasing the dot around like an overgrown cat!

“They’re like cats!” Zenna giggled, making her own light dot using her silver pendant for Stryka to chase around.

Erland glanced at Embla, grinned, and took out one of his daggers and started moving it around to catch the sunlight bouncing off of it.

Embla stuck her nose in the air, huffing, **_“I am not falling for that little trick!”_** and stayed rooted to her spot… for about 30 seconds.

**_“I must catch it!”_** she growled, pouncing on the dot of light and making Erland crack up.

* * *

“Meet the Terrible Terror!”

One look at the tiny green dragon Gobber had released and the recruits looked at each other, incredulous.

“Ha!” Tuffnut smirked. “It’s like the size of my…”

The poor Thorston never got to finish his sentence for, at that moment, the Terrible Terror pounced!

“The phrase ‘ _small but terrible_ ’ really applies to that little guy,” Zenna mumbled, backing away.

“No kidding,” Erland said, cringing as Tuffnut howled in pain.

“AHHH! GET IT OFF!”

Tuffnut groaned as the Terrible Terror viciously bit his nose before hopping off of his face. “Oh, I am hurt! I am _very much hurt!_ ” he moaned, rolling around on the floor.

Thinking fast, Hiccup held up his shield, the sunlight bouncing off of its domed iron boss to create shiny light for the Terror to chase. Following Hiccup’s lead, Zenna and Erland made their own lights and the three of them led the Terrible Terror back into its enclosure.

Shutting the door, Hiccup glanced at the other trainees and smiled shyly.

“Wow, they’re better than you _ever_ were,” Tuffnut remarked to Astrid, having recovered from the Terror’s attack.

Whatever sympathy she had had for Hiccup and whatever guilt she felt for hurting Zenna shriveled up and died in an instant. That afternoon, Astrid took out her ax and started mutilating innocent trees.

Seriously, how?!

How could they have gotten so good so fast?!

Astrid yanked her ax out of a tree and did a barrel roll before standing up, ready to throw her axe again… only to find Hiccup, Zenna, and Erland standing just a few feet away from her.

One second was all it took for those three to run away. She went after them, to get some answers, only to lose them after they rounded a corner. Frustrated, Astrid slung her ax over her shoulders and stomped off to do some more training.

The moment she was out of sight, Hiccup, Zenna, and Erland emerged from behind the rock they’d taken cover under and breathed a collective sigh of relief.

“We need to be more careful,” Erland said as they adjusted the dragons’ saddles. “If she follows us again, she won’t stop until she gets here and discovers the truth.”

“Yeah, but,” Zenna cast a worried look at Stryka, who was too busy eating some fish to notice her concern. “how long can we keep this up?” she wondered out loud.

“As long as it takes,” Hiccup said firmly, clipping a sheet of paper where he had drawn different tail positions onto the saddle.

“A cheat sheet’s not going to help, Hiccup,” Erland pointed out, finishing the adjustments on Embla’s saddle.

“If you really wanna fly, you just do it,” added Zenna, scratching Zenna behind the ears.

Hiccup rolled his eyes good-naturedly at the two before he and Toothless led the entire group out of the cove and over to a cliff, where he planted a stake in the ground and attached a rope to the front of Toothless’ saddle. Flapping his wings, Toothless took to the air before hovering like a kite while Hiccup tested the different tail positions illustrated on his cheat sheet.

Meanwhile, Zenna and Erland took turns having their dragons dive down and fly back up the cliff.

“I gotta say, Erland, I’m proud of you. You’re not even turning green even when we’re at this height!” Zenna praised her mischievous raven-haired friend as she and Stryka soared up higher and higher into the air before hovering next to a mostly stationary Hiccup and Toothless.

“Huh… it appears that you’re right, Zenna,” Erland remarked, looking down at the ocean far below him. He didn’t feel like throwing up, he wasn’t panicking…

Maybe he was finally overcoming his fear…

Embla purred and lightly bounced Erland on her back, making the young man yelp and laugh. **_“I must say that today’s infinitely better than the last times you’ve ridden me, Serpent Tongue,”_** she said.

**_‘If you’re talking about the time when I threw up when we did a mid-air barrel roll, need I remind you that it was_** **your _idea to try that stunt?’_** Erland shot back.

Hiccup and Zenna saw the two giving each other playful looks and smiled, imagining the conversation they were having. To communicate wordlessly with a dragon… that’s got to be something only the gods were capable of gifting to man…

Then another thought crossed their minds.

The ability to understand and communicate with dragons…

A prankster whose skills could put Ruffnut and Tuffnut Thorston’s abilities to shame…

Was it possible that Erland…?

_SNAP!_

All speculations ceased as Toothless and Hiccup went careening backward.

“Hiccup!” Zenna leaned forward as Stryka rushed to help her mate, before rolling off of Stryka’s back headfirst. She rolled right over Stryka’s head and ended up dangling in front of the dragoness’ face.

“What the hell?” the Fiersome girl muttered, feeling like an idiot.

**_“You okay, Zen?”_** Stryka warbled in concern, landing in front of a dazed Toothless.

“Oh, great,” Hiccup muttered as he got back on his feet, seeing the bent safety hook.

Toothless whined, **_“Please tell me you can fix that…”_** eyeing the hook that tethered the young Viking to him.

“Oh, boy, us too…” Zenna gulped, examining the safety hook on Stryka’s saddle.

Erland chuckled as Embla came in for a landing. “Hmmm, looks like you two have gotten into a spot of trouble,” he joked, jumping off of Embla’s back… before hearing a small clink.

**_“And so have you,”_** Embla deadpanned, seeing that Erland’s safety hook was also broken.

Erland didn’t turn around and, instead, glared at Hiccup and Zenna, the two of them smirking at his misfortune.

“Not. One. Word,” he growled, his whole face turning red.

After schooling his face into a neutral expression, Hiccup got an idea. “We’re going to have to go to the blacksmith stall to fix this,” he said grimly.

Erland and Zenna stared at him.

“You want the three of us… to sneak two Night Furies and a Changewing… into a village… of dragon killers,” Zenna said slowly. When her brother not by blood but by bond nodded, she groaned, “I can already see how many ways this plan could go seriously wrong.”

“Not if we’re careful,” Erland reminded them. “We can go in at night. With their dark hide, Toothless and Stryka will be hard to spot. And Embla can camouflage herself.” He nodded to his Changewing who went full cloak, the blue saddle being the only indicator that she was even there.

The three dragons looked at each other nervously. While they trusted their riders, the idea of entering a village chock-full of dragon haters made their tails twitch.

What if they got caught?

Would they be killed on the spot?

Caged up in the arena where so many dragons had been incarcerated and perished?

What of Hiccup and Zenna and Erland?

What would the villagers do to _them_?

* * *

Despite all of their fears, there was no other choice but to sneak into the village at night.

A passing Viking greeted Hiccup, Zenna, and Erland as they leaned against a house, looking all nonchalant. Once that guy was gone, all three of them tugged on their safety cords.

**_“Huh, so this is what a human village looks like…”_** Embla murmured, keeping herself camouflaged. An observant passerby would have noticed the blue saddle seemingly floating in midair following Erland around and would have paused for thought. Not tonight, though.

**_“It’s surprisingly cozy for a village of dragon killers,”_** said Toothless, turning to head in one direction to explore before Hiccup pulled on the cord, bringing him back to attention.

**_“What do you expect, my love? They have no scales or fur. They need to make comfortable lodgings in order to withstand the elements,”_** Stryka told him, sniffing the air.

“There’s the forge,” Hiccup whispered, leading the ragtag group in the dark. At the sight and scent of so many weapons stored within the blacksmith’s shop, Stryka began whimpering.

“Shhh…” soothed Zenna. “It’s okay, girl. I won’t let those things hurt you…” she murmured, scratching Stryka behind the ears.

Embla, still in full cloak, hissed, **_“I can smell the blood of my kin in here…”_** and Erland wrinkled his nose in disgust.

Toothless, curious as ever, poked his head inside a bucket. **_“Nope. No fish,”_** he grumbled, throwing it to the side and causing an almighty racket!

**_“Toothless, we’re trying to be sneaky!”_** Stryka chided her mate as the humans hastened to remove the damaged hooks attached to their saddles.

“Hiccup? Are you in there?”

“Shit!” Erland hissed while Zenna gulped, “Astrid!” hands fumbling for tools.

Leaving the two to finish the repairs, Hiccup rushed out of the blacksmith stall, coming face-to-face with a suspicious Astrid.

“Astrid! Hey! Hi, Astrid. Hi, Astrid.”

“Oh, the poor thing…” Erland mumbled in sympathy, grabbing a hammer to break the safety hook open.

Meanwhile, outside, Astrid was itching to get some answers. “I normally don’t care what people do, but you and Zen and Erland are acting weird,” she said, still oblivious to the three dragons hiding inside the blacksmith’s shop.

Zenna murmured a prayer to Loki, God of Mischief and Cunning, (not realizing that said god was right beside her and secretly grinning upon hearing her whispered prayer) as she undid the safety hook connecting her to Stryka. She tapped Toothless on the head and motioned for him to get Hiccup.

Taking his eyes off the sheep he’d been eyeing earlier, Toothless tugged, pulling Hiccup towards the shuttered doors.

Hiccup grinned sheepishly at Astrid, who glared. “Well, _weirder_ ,” she said before the scrawny Hooligan heir was pulled inside the stall.

“Fly for it!” Erland barked and all three dragons bolted.

“That was too close…” Zenna breathed out once they were back at the cove.

“She’s starting to catch on.” Erland turned to Hiccup, his face grave. “Hiccup, you need to be more careful. During the next training session, _deliberately_ mess up so Astrid can win. It might throw her off your scent if you do that,” he advised.

“I’ll try…” Hiccup mumbled then smiled. “Hey, tomorrow, we’re going to fly for real. We can go to the far North side of the island and practice. No one will see us there,” he told his friends.

“Yes!” Zenna pumped her fist in the air. “Finally, some _real_ flying!” she cheered, Stryka yapping excitedly in agreement.

**_“You ready?”_** Embla grinned at Erland, who scratched the back of his hand.

**_‘I suppose…’_** Erland replied telepathically. Flying for real… He and Embla were going to fly over the open ocean, off-coast of Berk, far away from the safe confines of the ground. Was he ready for this? He was fifty percent sure that he was, and fifty percent sure that he wasn’t.

Either way, there was no turning back.

* * *

“Oh, thank Odin…” Henna breathed out as Berk appeared on the horizon.

“I never thought I’d be so happy to see that wet heap of rock…” Edgar groaned, applying a fresh bandage to his wounded arm.

Standing on the least damaged ship of what was left of his fleet, Stoick glared at the waves.

The search for the nest had been a disaster. Within five minutes of entering Helheim’s Gate, Stoick and his warriors had been besieged by thousands of wild dragons. Only a small number of their longships had survived the attacks. While there weren’t any casualties, the pride of the expedition team had been severely wounded.

Gobber was at the harbor to greet his old friend. “Well, I trust you found the nest at least?” he asked Stoick as he got off his ship.

“Not even close,” grumbled Stoick, shouldering his load.

“Ah. Excellent.”

Stoick sighed heavily. “I hope you had a little more success than me,” he said to Gobber.

The blacksmith shrugged. “Well, if by success, you mean that your parenting troubles are over with, then… yes,” he said as some of the villagers came up to their chief.

“Congratulations, Stoick! Everyone is so relieved,” said Phlegma.

“Out with the old and in with the new, right?” Starkard laughed.

“No one will miss that old nuisance!” Hoark shouted.

“The village is throwing a party to celebrate!” Ack announced.

Were they talking about _Hiccup_?

Stoick turned to Gobber, bewildered. “He’s gone?”

Oh, dear gods above… Had his son run away? Was that why everyone was so cheerful?

Luckily for Stoick, Gobber replied, “Yeah… most afternoons. But who can blame him? I mean the life of a celebrity’s very rough. He can barely walk through the village without being swarmed by his new fans.”

Now Stoick was even more confused. “ _Hiccup_?” he asked, eyebrows knit together in disbelief.

Gobber grinned. “Who would’ve thought o’ it, eh? He has this _way_ with the beasts,” he said admiringly.

A small cough was heard and both he and Stoick turned to see Gothi standing before them. The elder smiled and spread her arms in greeting. “Ah, Gothi, I bet you’re proud of that young ward of yours, huh?” Gobber asked.

Gothi nodded then tottered back to the village.

“Erland joined the recruits. Lad’s got quick reflexes and an even quicker mind,” Gobber explained to Stoick.

Edgar and Henna passed by the two and Gobber welcomed them with some good news. “And it’s not just Hiccup and Erland. Why Zenna’s passed all of my expectations!” he laughed.

“Pardon?” Edgar raised an eyebrow.

“She’s got a way with the dragons as well. I don’t know if this is the right thing to say,” Gobber gave the Fiersomes a proud look. “but I think Zenna’s close to surpassing Elias when it comes to dragon training,” he said truthfully.

Edgar and Henna looked at each other, faces tense.

Oh Norns, were their worst fears about to come true?

As proud as they were of hearing how well their daughter had been doing at training, they worried.

As if sensing the two parents’ anxiety, Gobber added, “No need to get your undies in a twist, you two. Zen’s perfectly well and unharmed.” Then he lightly combed his fingers through his mustache. “Well, she did get into a fight with Astrid the other day…”

“What?!” Henna’s worried expression turned thunderous. When Gobber told her the whole story, she was _livid._

“Asegir!” she shouted, attracting the attention of Astrid’s father. “I need to have a word with your daughter! NOW!”

“Oh Thor, there she goes…” Edgar sighed, watching his wife stomp over to the Hofferson patriarch. He turned to Stoick. “Well, Stoick… congratulations, I suppose,” he muttered before following his wife.

Stoick could only look at the village, at his people returning to their families, and wonder. He wanted nothing more than to find Hiccup, maybe even hug him, and tell him how proud he was of him.

But where was he?


	14. Test Drive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hiccup, Zenna, and Erland's first real flight with Toothless, Stryka, and Embla. Spoiler Alert: it does not go smoothly.
> 
> Also, again, I deleted the song lyrics in the original version of this chapter. The song featured here is "Run Wild" by Laney Jones.
> 
> Enjoy!

**Chapter 14: Test Drive**

“I am already regretting this…” muttered Erland as the wind buffeted his face.

Embla laughed, her antennae fluttering in the breeze. **_“This was your decision, Loki. There’s no turning back now,”_** she reminded him as they flew in between Toothless and Stryka, the six of them soaring across the ocean.

“Wow…” Zenna looked behind her, seeing Berk slowly getting smaller the further away they flew. “And here I thought a mountaintop view was the epitome of beauty. This is amazing!” she shouted, throwing her hands up in the air.

**_“And my love and I get to experience this view every time we take wing,”_** chirped Stryka, glancing at her beloved mate who was thrilled to be back where he belonged – the sky.

“Okay there, bud, we’re gonna take this nice and slow,” Hiccup said as they reached cruising altitude. “Here we go. Here we go… position three, no, four…” he mumbled, consulting his cheat sheet.

“Lose the cheat sheet, Hicc. Flying’s supposed to be instinctual. You just do it,” hollered Zenna. She then looked down at Stryka. “It _is_ instinctual, right?” she asked uncertainly, relaxing when Stryka bobbed her head up and down in affirmation.

Ignoring Zenna, Hiccup checked his cheat sheet then pushed on the pedal, opening the tail fin.

**_“Let’s do this!”_** Eyes alight with determination, Toothless maneuvered around a cloud, him and Hiccup grinning when they saw that their flying was going smoothly.

“Not bad…” Erland murmured, still keeping a tight grip on Embla’s saddle. He had made the mistake of looking down earlier and his stomach was turning over inside of him.

“Alright, it’s go time. It’s go time.” Hiccup signaled to his friends that it was time to dive.

Slowly, then, gradually gaining speed, Toothless, Stryka, and Embla dove down until they were skimming the tops of the waves.

“Come on, buddy, come on, buddy!” Hiccup encouraged Toothless as they leveled off.

“Alright, Stryka! Atta girl!” Zenna cheered as Stryka gaily soared above the white-capped waves.

“Oh thank Norns, oh thank Norns…” Erland chanted under his breath, nausea diminishing now that they were no longer so high up.

The dragons flew under a natural rock arch, the seagulls calling out to them and to one another overhead. So far, so good…

“Sea stack!” Zenna yelled to Hiccup and Toothless before the duo plowed into one of the several sea stacks dotting the water.

“Sorry!” Hiccup yelped, hurrying to steer Toothless out of harm’s way.

**_“It’s okay accidents happe— Oh shit!”_** Toothless growled as they hit another one.

“That was my fault.”

Erland rolled his eyes as Embla picked up speed to glide beside Toothless. **_‘Hit him for me,’_** he commanded Toothless, the Night Fury gladly slapping Hiccup with his ear.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m on it. Position four, uh, three.” Huffing, Hiccup changed the tail fin’s position again, this time, sending him and Toothless climbing upwards. Stryka and Embla followed suit, roaring with delight.

“Yeah! Go baby!” Hiccup yelled, feeling the adrenaline rush.

“Yes! Wooooo!” Zenna howled, violet eyes sparkling with unbridled joy.

Oh, glory to the gods! This was the most spectacular thing they had ever experienced!

But not for Erland.

The higher Embla flew, the more his fear grew. Gripping the saddle so hard that his knuckles turned white, Erland found himself thinking back to when he was still Loki… when he was hanging over the Bifrost with just Gungir to keep him from falling…

…When he let go of all that he had known.

Embla, sensing her rider’s distress, tried to slow herself down, but the winds were blowing too wildly. She had no choice but to keep ascending. She tried to whisper words of encouragement and reassurance but the former god didn’t seem to hear her, too great was his fear.

Oblivious to Erland’s rising panic, Hiccup and Zenna continued to fly higher and higher on Toothless and Stryka’s backs.

“Oh, this is amazing. The wind in my…” Hiccup barely got the words out of his mouth before a gust of wind tore his cheat sheet off the saddle.

“CHEAT SHEET! STOOOOP!”

All three dragons, believing that Hiccup had sent out a direct command to them, paused in mid-flight, their aerodynamic forms curved like cats prepared to leap. The resulting stop in their momentum caused Hiccup, Zenna, and Erland to be unhooked from the saddles.

The whole ordeal lasted about three seconds, enough time for the six companions to realize with horror what was happening and what was about to happen.

Then they started to fall out of the sky.

“NOOOOOO!!!” Hiccup forgot about the cheat sheet as he and Toothless fell, desperately trying to reach each other.

“Holy Shieeeeeeeeelds!” screamed Zenna, flapping her arms about uselessly. Stryka roared and quickly righted herself and swiped at Zenna with her right front leg, her claws snagging on Zenna’s fur vest.

Grunting, Zenna managed to pull herself toward Stryka and haul herself back onto the saddle. “Come on, Hicc!” she yelled frantically to her surrogate brother.

“Oh, gosh! Oh, gods! Oh, no!” Hiccup saw a mountain peak whiz by. “Y-you gotta angle yourself! Okay, no, no, no! Come back down towards me! Come back down… YOW!” he yelled frantically to a struggling Toothless before getting smacked in the face with the Night Fury’s tail. They had to get back to each other and pull up before it was too late…

Finally, the two of them managed to get to each other.

Then the roars of a Changewing grabbed their attention.

“ERLAND!” Hiccup and Zenna saw, to their horror, that their friend was still falling. What was worse was that he wasn’t even trying to get back to Embla. He was simply frozen, curled up into a ball with his eyes tightly squeezed shut.

Helpless.

He was absolutely helpless.

_‘This is it… I’m going to die…’_ thought Loki as gravity continued to pull him down. Perhaps this was his fate all along, to fall after having risen so high.

He had been a king of Asgard before falling off the Bifrost.

He had been a dragon rider, had touched the clouds, only to fall and die like a lowly mortal.

He heard Hiccup and Zenna screaming, begging him to open his eyes and fight against his inevitable fate, and he felt a pang of sorrow.

_‘I’m so sorry. And I had grown so fond of you two as well…’_ He thought, regretting that he never got a chance to tell Hiccup and Zenna the truth.

But, then again, maybe it was better that they didn’t know. At least, when he died, they would remember him as a friend and not as a monster…

**_“LOKI!”_ **

****

Eyes snapping open, Loki saw Embla still freefalling beside him.

**_“Grab on!”_** the Changewing roared, stretching out her tail.

He grabbed onto Embla’s prehensile tail and yelped as he was tugged towards her. Scrambling onto the saddle, Loki finally broke out of his stupor.

“Pull up!” Hiccup hollered, the cheat sheet somehow finding its way into his mouth, as they neared the tree line.

The three Vikings pulled hard on their dragons’ saddles, desperate to get back up into the air before they crashed. To Hiccup, Zenna, and Erland’s immense relief, they cleared the tree line by the skin of their teeth. That’s when they realized they were headed straight for a sea stack maze!

Hiccup spat the cheat sheet out of his mouth and checked it.

“JUST LOSE IT ALREADY!” Both Erland and Zenna shrieked as they approached the treacherous obstacle course.

Deciding then and there to listen to his two friends, Hiccup threw the cheat sheet away and decided to trust his instincts.

They all did.

If anyone had been sailing around the area, they would have been treated to a most wondrous sight: three young Vikings on the backs of dragons, slaloming through the sea stack maze at great speeds. It was as if man and dragon had become of one mind, of one body, as they took quick turns, twists, and spins in navigating through the mazy multitudes.

For Hiccup, Zenna, and Erland, it was as if something had awakened in them. Flying suddenly felt so natural, like they had been doing this all their lives.

Hiccup and Zenna, as they made snap decisions, felt as if they were sharing their thoughts with Toothless and Stryka, the two Night Furies trusting their riders to guide them safely out of the danger.

As for Erland and Embla, they really were reading each other’s minds.

**_‘Right.’_ **

****

**_‘Left.’_ **

****

**_‘Turn that way.’_ **

****

**_‘Turn this way.’_ **

****

**_‘Look out!’_ **

****

**_‘Phew, close call!’_ **

****

**_‘Do we go up?’_ **

****

**_‘No, go down.’_ **

****

**_‘Here?’_ **

****

**_‘There!’_ **

****

They went back and forth, both of them assessing the terrain and relaying their thoughts to one another at impossible speeds.

And the more he and Embla cooperated with one other, the more Erland forgot about the paralyzing fear he had felt when he had tumbled through the air. He felt a swell of confidence surging through him, fueled by adrenaline, and trusted Embla that they would make it out of here alive – together.

The fog cleared, revealing the end of the maze. Toothless, Stryka, and Embla gleefully flew onwards, relieved to see open water up ahead without a sea stack in sight.

After a brief moment to realize that they were all still in one piece, Hiccup, Zenna, and Erland found themselves celebrating.

“YEEEEAAAAHHH!” Hiccup yelled, swinging his arms up over his head in triumph.

“WOOOOOOO!” Zenna hollered into the wind, the biggest grin on her face.

“YES!” Erland whooped, pumping his fist in the air.

In celebration, Toothless and Stryka both unleashed plasma blasts that exploded into two glorious infernos… right in front of them and their riders.

“Come on!”

“Aw man!”

“Don’t even think about, Embla.” Erland smirked as his Changewing opened her mouth.

**_“I-I was going to_** **roar _, Loki! I don’t even know how to breathe fire!”_** protested Embla, her jaws gleaming green with acid.

Erland fondly rolled his eyes before looking at Hiccup and Zenna covering their faces as the flames washed over them like an orange wave. Thankfully, the blasts hadn’t been lethal and only singed their hair.

But oh how Erland laughed at the sight of his two friends’ sooty faces.

Hiccup and Zenna both glared at Erland as he laughed at them, before laughing themselves.

They couldn’t believe it. They actually flew, for real. And they’d managed to survive going through a treacherous sea stack maze at high speeds, on the backs of dragons no less.

The three of them laughed for a couple more minutes before looking at the sights all around them, Toothless, Stryka, and Embla slowly climbing up until they were back high up in the clouds.

“Well,” Erland looked down before looking back up at the two young Vikings who had roped him into all of this madness. “I think it’s safe to say that I’m no longer that afraid of heights,” he declared before reaching down to rub the little spot between Embla’s ears. **_‘Thanks for saving me, Embla,’_** he mentally added.

**_“I’ve got your back, Serpent Tongue.”_** Embla’s antenna gently rubbed against his cheek. **_“From now on, you are my rider, my comrade… my friend. And I will_ always _be ready to protect you. I swear by the blood of my ancestors, you need only call for me and I will be there,”_** she said softly.

“What’s she saying, Erland?” asked Hiccup, seeing how happy the young man was.

Smiling and giving Embla another head rub, Erland looked up. “She just promised to protect me. Says I’m her friend,” he replied before looking at Toothless and Stryka. “I imagine that Toothless and Stryka feel the same way, yes?” he inquired.

**_“Definitely.”_** Toothless smiled. **_“Hiccup, while you may have taken away my ability to fly solo, you’ve given it back… with a little something more. From now on, you are my best friend. My rider and brother in all but blood. No enemy, human or dragon, shall harm you as long as I live. By the blood of my ancestors, I so swear,”_** he pledged.

**_“As do I.”_** Stryka trilled. **_“Zenna, my human sister, by the blood of my ancestors, I swear to you that no harm shall come to you as long as I live. As long as there’s breath in me, I will do my best to keep you safe,”_** she promised.

When Erland translated their words, Hiccup and Zenna were profoundly touched. Hugging their dragons, they both whispered to do the same.

**_‘No matter what happens…’_** Erland leaned down and rested his hand against Embla’s neck. **_‘The three of us will protect you all as well. If there comes a time where we are discovered, Hiccup, Zenna, and I will fight with everything we have to keep you three safe. I promise you, Embla. As your rider… as your friend… I will never let anything happen to you,’_** he promised.

Embla crooned, **_“I know you will, Loki. I trust you.”_** And went higher and higher.

Throwing his hands up high, Loki laughed, feeling the clouds part through his fingers. Seeing Hiccup and Zenna follow him on Toothless and Stryka, he realized something.

He had friends now.

He wasn’t alone anymore.

_“There’s a light at the end of the darkness,”_ Zenna suddenly sang out, surprising him and Hiccup. She smiled and bobbed her head to an imaginary beat. _“The last step is always the hardest…”_

“She’s singing Eli’s song…” Hiccup whispered, tears coming to his eyes. It had been ages since he heard Elias sing that song, a song the older Fiersome had written for them and would have performed together in their band’s debut before the fateful raid happened…

Zenna felt her heart grow light as she imagined her older brother looking down at her from up high in Valhalla, singing his song. _“But we fight it, and we push against a world that’s caving in. It’s not power that makes you the strongest…”_

Looking at each other, Hiccup and Zenna grinned and started singing. Hiccup laughed and sang his own verse, Zenna and Erland backing him up.

_‘Only those two can start singing at any moment… But what the heck, this occasion definitely calls for singing!’_ thought Erland as he joined Hiccup and Zenna in singing the chorus.

Toothless, Stryka, and Embla crooned and warbled, singing along in their own special way, as they took their riders higher up into the clouds. And all the while, Hiccup, Zenna, and Erland sang their hearts out, their voices harmonizing perfectly and floating on the winds.

It was a whole other world, up in the sky…

Up in the sky, with their dragons, they really were free.


	15. Endless Possibilities

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hiccup, Zenna, and Erland make plans for the future while Toothless, Stryka, and Embla worry about the present.

**Chapter 15: Endless Possibilities**

Toothless rumbled, pushing a fish head he had regurgitated towards Hiccup. **_“Want one?”_** he warbled.

Hiccup smiled awkwardly. “Uh… no thanks, I’m good,” he declined, holding up a stick that held his spit-roasted fish.

**_“Okay, your loss.”_** Toothless shrugged his wings and ate the fish head again.

Hiccup chuckled before swiping his hand against his face, his fingers coming away black. He sighed and glanced at Zenna who was wiping away the singe marks on her face with a scrap from her arm wrappings. Stryka watched her curiously before she decided to help Zenna clean herself up… by licking her face. **_“All better!”_** chirped Stryka, wagging her tail.

“Heh, thanks, Stryka…” Zenna cringed as dragon saliva dripped down her face. At least she didn’t look like she’d stuck her face close to the forge now…

“That will take forever to wash off,” Erland pointed out, roasting a halibut over a small fire they had made earlier when they landed on a large sea stack after their adrenaline-filled flight.

In response, Zenna made her way over to the edge of the sea stack. Kneeling on the ground, she took a deep breath and plunged her head into the water. After a few minutes, she brought her head back up with a gasp. “You were saying?” she asked Erland, shaking her head vigorously.

Erland merely chuckled, leaning back against Embla. Looking up at the sky, he smirked. “Ah, we have company,” he announced as a flock of Terrible Terrors descended on them.

**_“Ugh, thieves…”_** Embla snorted in disgust, clutching the pile of fish she had caught protectively.

“Come on, Toothless, just give them some…” coaxed Hiccup, hearing his Night Fury friend growling.

Toothless snarled at the Terrible Terrors scampering over to him and Stryka, **_“My fish! Catch your own, scavengers!”_**

****

The Terrors fought each other to steal the best fish, blasting each other with small streams of flame, haven’t heard a single word Toothless had said.

**_‘They never listen, Terrors…’_** Erland snickered upon hearing Toothless’ thoughts.

Embla roared as a trio of Terrors flew up to try and attack her for her fish. **_“Away, you pests! Shoo!”_** she hissed, lashing out her tail and swatting the little dragons away.

**_‘Alright, you lot. Don’t provoke her more. Leave us be,’_** Erland telepathically commanded.

The Terrible Terrors stopped trying and chittered softly, **_“Sorry, Loki…”_** and flew off, much to Embla’s relief.

**_“Oh, thank Norns…”_** sighed the Changewing before proceeding to gobble up her catch before any of the other Terrors did.

“I still don’t get how you’re able to do that,” Zenna remarked, staring at Erland in awe.

“I just do,” Erland replied, smirking.

“I wonder what it’d be like to communicate with dragons… I’d love to be able to hear what Toothless is saying myself…” Hiccup wondered out loud, looking at his best dragon friend and chuckling when one particularly sneaky Terror managed to grab a fish and waddle away with it, holding the fish up so it looked like it was walking.

**_“Oh no you don’t!”_** snarled Toothless snatching the fish in his jaws and gobbling it up. **_“Ha!”_** he let out a rumbling laugh.

The Terrible Terror snorted and stamped its front paw. **_“All right, Night Fury! You asked for it!”_** it squeaked as it opened its mouth, gathering up all the gas in its belly for a fire blast. But before the little creature could exhale a jet of flame, Toothless shot a tiny plasma blast into its mouth, causing the gas inside of the Terrible Terror to ignite in its little stomach.

**_“Toothless – 1, Terrible Terror – 0,”_** giggled Stryka as the tiny dragon flopped down in front of her mate, defeated.

“Not so fireproof on the inside, are you?” Hiccup took one fish from Toothless’ pile. “There you go,” he murmured, tossing the fish over to the Terrible Terror.

**_“Yay!”_** Swallowing the fish hole, the tiny dragon waddled over to Hiccup and curled up next to the boy, purring like a kitten.

Carefully, Hiccup started stroking the Terrible Terror’s back and the little guy didn’t even protest, snuggling up next to the Viking even more. Hiccup’s forest-green eyes widened as the realization hit him.

“Everything we know about you guys… is wrong…” he breathed out, Erland and Zenna realizing the same thing.

“We’ve been wrong about them… for 300 years.” Zenna shook her head. “Holy Shields, I just realized… we don’t even know _why_ and _how_ the war started! We’ve been fighting with them for so long and we haven’t even stopped to think about how we can _end_ it all…” she muttered.

“Years of conflict tend to make us forget why there’s even conflict to begin with,” Erland piped up, quoting one of his old history tutors. “All we have left is our instinctual desire to conquer and resist being conquered.”

Growing up, Loki had studied the history of all the Nine Realms and of all the known conflicts that had happened and were still happening within each realm. He had even experienced a few battles himself on these realms where conflict seemed eternal and nobody could tell how it all started. On rare occasions, the root causes of the animosity between enemies could be traced back to a simple dispute blown out of proportion. Once or twice, he’d helped find these causes and managed to persuade the leaders of two warring factions to have a ceasefire so they could talk things out.

Being a diplomatic envoy of Asgard, he had worked hard to negotiate peace between enemies and had been mostly successful. It was during those rare moments when he came back with the news that conflict had ceased and that Asgard had gained new allies, where Odin would really look at him with pride…

“We may never know how and why the war between the dragons and your people started,” Erland glanced at Hiccup and Zenna. “But maybe, just maybe… we can find a way to end it once and for all,” he said strongly.

**_“And you’ve already started, you three,”_** purred Embla, nuzzling Erland. **_“You’ve gained our trust and our friendship. If you three can show to your people that dragons and Vikings can get along, the war will end.”_** She said, Erland translating her purrs for Hiccup and Zenna to understand. Her words made the two young Vikings’ eyes light up.

****

**_“I wish it can be as simple as that, Embla…”_** Stryka’s eyes gazed downward.

**_“The raids won’t stop,”_** Toothless sighed, resting his head on his paws. **_“They won’t ever stop… As long as…”_** he stopped himself when Hiccup looked at him. He didn’t want Loki to find out and tell Hiccup.

**_‘I won’t force you two to tell,’_** Erland mentally sighed. **_‘But, please… if there ever comes a time when the two of them are going to be directly affected by whatever secret you two are keeping…’_** he flapped a hand in Hiccup and Zenna’s direction. **_‘…you_ need _to tell me so we can protect them,’_** he pleaded with Toothless and Stryka, who both nodded solemnly.

**_“We will, Serpent Tongue,”_** the two Night Furies warbled.

Oblivious to the exchange between Erland and their two dragons, Hiccup and Zenna discussed what life on Berk would be like if the war ended.

“Can you imagine it, Zen? A place where dragons and Vikings coexist in peace and in harmony! We-we’ll be able to defend Berk from invaders and be able to catch more fish to feed everyone… And we can _travel!_ We can go _anywhere_ on the backs of dragons. Maybe even… Maybe we could even travel beyond the Archipelago! Can you imagine it?!” Hiccup exclaimed, already mapping out the known world of the Archipelago in his mind and imagining what the lands _outside_ of the Barbaric Archipelago looked like.

“Huh… A dragon and human utopia… and the opportunity to explore and discover the world beyond where ships can sail… It all sounds too good to be true.” Zenna gently scratched Stryka behind the ears, the dragoness purring. “But, you know what? Maybe it can all come true,” she said.

“Okay, let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” chuckled Erland. “Remember you two, we still have to figure out a way to stop this war,” he reminded the two, but his eyes sparkled at the ideas the duo had put onto the table. “Once peace has been made, _then_ we can work on making all of your new dreams a reality.”

As the sun set on what had probably been the most dangerous yet most exciting day of their lives, two young Vikings, two Night Furies, a former god, and a Changewing left for Berk, their heads brimming with new and endless possibilities and their hearts filled with hope for a better future – for both of their kinds.


	16. Tough Choices to Make

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which The Three Weirdos find themselves at their own separate crossroads.

**Chapter 16: Tough Choices to Make**

After leaving Toothless, Stryka, and Embla back at the cove, Hiccup, Zenna, and Erland went back to the village. To their surprise, the whole plaza was lit up. Drink overflowed from the barrels and Berkians danced about singing songs.

“Either they’re celebrating Hiccup’s success or Old Mildew’s finally kicked the bucket,” remarked Erland, nearly doubling over as Hoark passed by and gave him a hearty slap on the back before going on his merry drunken way.

“I doubt it. Mildew’s survived getting buried alive during the Blizzard of Olaf,” Hiccup pointed out, looking around the plaza. Then he paled and quickly muttered, “I’ll see you guys tomorrow!” before turning around and sprinting towards the forge.

Confused, Erland and Zenna turned around and saw Stoick talking with some of the men.

“Ah, the expedition party has returned,” Erland announced.

“That means…” Zenna’s eyes widened. “My parents must be back!” she exclaimed and ran in the direction of her house.

Chuckling, Erland decided to get a drink. Norns knew that, after facing his fear today, he had earned it.

* * *

“Mom? Dad?” Zenna opened the door to her house, heart beating wildly in her chest. _‘Please gods… let them be all right. Let both of them be here…’_ she prayed as she stepped inside.

All of a sudden, strong arms encircled her from behind! Screaming, Zenna thrashed about, thinking that she was being attacked before stilling when she heard her father’s mellow baritone voice.

“Sorry, love. I didn’t think you’d scare so easily,” Edgar said, grinning apologetically as he set Zenna back down.

“Apology accepted!” Zenna flung her arms around her father, hugging him tightly. “I’m just glad you’re safe…” she murmured, burying her face in her father’s tunic.

“If you’re done reuniting with our daughter, Edgar,” Henna emerged from the kitchen with a tray of sweet buns and mugs of hot chocolate. “I’d like to have a turn cuddling her,” she said, smiling just a bit brighter than usual now that she and her husband were back on Berk with their daughter where they belonged.

Zenna politely excused herself from her father’s hug before going to her mother, embracing her. “You’re both alive… Thank Odin, Frigga, Thor, and all the gods and goddesses in Valhalla,” she whispered, melting into her mother’s warm hug.

“We would have fought Odin’s Valkyries themselves to get back to you, my darling,” Henna said, kissing Zenna’s cheeks, clasping her dear child tenderly. “Now, come tell your father and I what you’ve been up to while we were gone.”

* * *

In the forge, Hiccup lazily rolled a pencil up and down his slanting wooden desk. A half-finished sketch of Toothless rested under his chin. The moment he had seen his father in the plaza, he had bolted and taken refuge in the forge.

_‘What am I going to do?’_ thought Hiccup dejectedly. _‘Everybody on this island thinks I’ve undergone a miracle transformation. I can’t kill dragons. I wouldn’t kill one… I **couldn’t** kill one. After everything Toothless has taught me… I can’t do it. I can’t keep this up… I have to…’_

A flash of red caught Hiccup’s eye and he jumped up, startled. His father stood in the doorway, face set in a familiar scowl.

“Dad! You’re back!” Hiccup hurriedly pushed his sketches of Toothless away, hoping that the dim lighting made it hard for his father to see them. “Gobber’s not here, so…” he began to ramble before Stoick spoke.

“I know. I came looking for you.”

Hiccup blinked. This was new. “You did?” he asked uncertainly.

Stoick squeezed his way through the tight space, his eyes like embers. “You’ve been keeping secrets,” he said, his tone accusing.

“I-I have?” Hiccup stuttered. _‘Oh gods, no… No, no, no… He can’t possibly…’_ his panicked mind chanted.

“Just how long did you think you could hide it from me?”

“I don’t know what you’re…”

“ _Nothing_ happens on this island, without me hearing about it.”

“Oh?”

“So.” Stoick fixed his chiefly stare on his son. “Let’s talk about that dragon,” he said in an almost casual way.

Hiccup felt his heart plummet. “Oh, gods. Dad, I’m so sorry…” he began, searching his mind for the right words to say. “I was going to tell you. I-I just didn’t know how to…”

Then, to his surprise, his father started _laughing._

_‘Laughing… Laughing’s a good sign, isn’t it?’_ Hiccup thought as he tried to laugh as well, failing miserably. “Y-you’re not… upset?” he asked, wondering if his father was okay with him not becoming a dragon killer. He had to agree with Erland now. _‘Dragon Rider’_ was a pretty cool title…

“What?!” Stoick beamed at him. “I was hoping for this!” he boomed.

“Uh… you were?” Hiccup raised an eyebrow, feeling like he was missing some crucial information. His father’s next words cleared things up.

“And believe me, it only gets better! Just wait till you spill a Nadder’s guts for the first time! And mount your first Gronckle head on a spear! WHAT A FEELING!” Stoick was positively glowing with pride at this point, making Hiccup feel very uncomfortable. “You really had me going there, son! All those years of the _worst_ Viking Berk has ever seen!”

Hiccup looked down, rapidly blinking his eyes. _‘I know he’s seen me as a disappointment for all these years… But the **worst**? Is that how he really sees me?’ _he asked himself as a brief image of his younger self sitting on his father’s lap in front of the hearth late at night appeared in his mind, intensifying the pain in his heart.

He and his father used to be so close… What had happened?

“Odin, it was rough! I almost gave up on you!” Stoick’s booming voice brought Hiccup out of his sad thoughts, and he looked up at his dad’s beaming face. “And all the while, you were holding out on me! Oh, Thor Almighty!” Stoick laughed then, taking a breath, sat down.

“With you doing so well in the ring, we _finally_ have something to talk about,” he said, smiling proudly.

Hiccup opened and closed his mouth, wondering what he should say. Should he say thank you? Say that he was happy that his father finally saw him for the wrong reason? Should he get angry? Question him if he really thought that his son had been the _‘worst Viking Berk has ever seen’_ and send him out? Hiccup wasn’t so sure anymore.

“Oh, I-I… brought you something.” Stoick reached behind and pulled out a battered helmet. “To keep you safe in the ring,” he said, handing the helmet to Hiccup.

_‘Okay… that’s… actually really nice of him…’_ Hiccup smiled slightly as he ran his hand over the helmet. It looked a little worse for wear, but it was the perfect size for him. “Wow. Thanks,” he said sincerely.

Stoick chuckled. “Ah, your mother would’ve wanted you to have it. It’s half of her breastplate,” he told him.

_‘O-kayyy… that was something I didn’t need to know…’_ thought Hiccup as he held the helmet in his hands as if it were about to bite him. But the fact that it had been from something that his mother had owned, had touched… it made the helmet all the more precious to him and, apparently, to his father as well as he saw his dad tap his own helmet.

“Matching set. Keeps her close, y’know? Wear it proudly. You deserve it.” Stoick’s gaze softened. For a moment, he saw his son as the tiny child he had had to raise on his own, who reminded him so much of his dear Valka. “You’ve held up your end of the deal,” he said.

As his dad’s words sunk in, Hiccup knew that tomorrow was going to be tough. Gobber will definitely hold the last lesson tomorrow, the one that’ll determine who will get to kill the Monstrous Nightmare, and the whole village was going to come to watch.

If he didn’t get picked, his father would be so disappointed in him. If he did…

_‘I’ll never be able to do it… I’ll never be one of them…’_

Then and there, Hiccup Haddock realized that he wasn’t a dragon killer.

He was a Dragon Trainer _and_ a Dragon Rider.

“I should really get to bed,” he fake-yawned, stretching his arms.

Just like that, the awkward father-son dynamic returned as Stoick stood up.

“Yes!” said Stoick.

“Good!” Hiccup nodded.

“Okay. Good talk.”

“See you back at the house.”

“We should do this again.”

“I’m great. Thanks for stopping by.”

“Glad I stopped by, I hope you uh, like the hat,” said Stoick, awkwardly backing out of his son’s private nook.

“And for the… the breast hat,” Hiccup replied, gingerly setting the helmet down on his desk.

“Well, uh… good night,” Stoick said then left, bumping into a hanging rack of Gobber’s prosthetic limbs.

Once his father was gone, Hiccup put away his drawings of Toothless and hid them underneath a stack of his old dragon-killing contraption plans. Then, he put on his helmet. As gross it was to know that it had been made from half of his mom’s breastplate, it was surprisingly a good fit.

Looking up at the stars, Hiccup whispered, “What about you, Mom? Would you be proud of me?” receiving nothing but twinkles from the stars.

Heaving a heavy sigh, Hiccup left the forge and started walking in the direction of Zenna’s house. He needed to talk to her.

* * *

“Astrid and I aren’t really speaking to each other, but I’m open to giving her another chance,” Zenna said as she lounged on the fur rug in the family den, her parents lying down on either side of her. “If she apologizes to my face and she means it, I might forgive her,” she said thoughtfully.

“I already talked to her father, and I managed to find her earlier out in one of the fields so I could give her a piece of my mind,” Henna sighed, letting her dark hair come out of its bun.

“Did you yell at her?” asked Zenna, her violet eyes flicking over to her mother.

“I… might have raised my voice a little,” Henna admitted, cheeks flushed.

“Love, you sent every animal within a five-mile radius running. I bet even Mildew could hear you, and he lives on the far side of the island!” Edgar laughed, getting a light smack on the chest from his wife.

Zenna winced, feeling sorry for Astrid. Her mother may be the sweetest of women but, when aroused, her temper is like a volcano about to erupt. And when Henna Fiersome really let out her anger… things got very intense _and_ scary.

“Are you sure your eye’s all better though, my dear?” Henna sat up and had her daughter sit up as well, examining her right eye.

“Don’t worry, Mom. I iced it for a few days and the swelling’s all gone now. You can’t even tell that it was black and blue,” Zenna replied, feeling the skin around her eye.

“I heard from Gobber that you, Hiccup, and Erland are at the top of your class.” Edgar rested his weight on his elbows and smiled proudly. “You’ve put your brother’s lessons to good use, I see,” he remarked.

“I have to admit, Dad… Eli’s advice gave me a bit of an edge,” Zenna said, looking into the flames wistfully. “I wish he was here…” she murmured.

“So do we, Zen. So do we…” Henna’s smile faded a little as she embraced her daughter. “But… your brother’s still here, in a way. As long as we keep him in our hearts, he’ll never be gone,” she said softly, combing Zenna’s dark hair and making her dear girl sigh and relax.

“Aye. I’m sure Elias is watching over us.” Edgar grinned. “And I bet he’s having fun up there in Valhalla, teaming up with Loki to play tricks on all the gods,” he joked, his wife and daughter laughing.

“I still remember him suggesting to Ruffnut and Tuffnut that they should start a cult for Loki,” Zenna giggled, remembering how her older brother used to pull all sorts of pranks on everyone. While he hadn’t been as crazy as the twins, Elias had definitely been a worshipper of the Trickster God.

“He would get along with Erland. That guy’s as mischievous as Loki himself,” Zenna mused.

“You and Hiccup seem to be hanging out with him more and more often these days,” Henna remarked, happy that her daughter had made a new friend.

“Yeah. Erland may act aloof and haughty at times, but he’s really a big softy underneath. Hiccup and I… I can’t really explain it, but he and I feel safe whenever Erland’s around,” Zenna said before hearing a knock on the door.

“Anyone home?”

“Hiccup!” Zenna jumped to her feet and raced to the door.

Hiccup took off his helmet and waved to Henna and Edgar. “I’m glad you two got back here safely, Mr. and Mrs. Fiersome,” he greeted them, grinning.

“Ah, no need to be so formal, lad! Good to see you!” Edgar stood up and walked over to Stoick’s son to give him a pat on the head.

“Have you eaten anything yet, Hiccup? There’s still some stew leftover. I’ll heat some of it up for you,” Henna offered, getting up.

“Oh, no, Mrs. Fiersome. Thank you, but I-I already ate…” Hiccup shyly looked at Zenna. “A-actually, I’m here because… well, I need to talk to Zenna,” he said haltingly.

Zenna noted Hiccup’s hand wringing, his subdued stance, and knew that something was bothering him. “Wanna talk outside?” she suggested, taking Hiccup’s hand in hers. Something told her that her parents would try to eavesdrop if she and her best friend talked upstairs in her room.

Nodding, Hiccup glanced at Edgar and Henna, silently asking for permission.

“Of course, dear,” Henna said softly.

“You two look like you really need to have a chat,” Edgar agreed.

Going outside, Hiccup and Zenna walked to the back of the house.

“Okay, Hicc, what’s on your mind?” Zenna’s eyes drifted to the helmet her scrawny friend held. “Cool helmet, by the way,” she added.

“Thanks… It’s half of my mom’s breastplate,” Hiccup deadpanned.

“Okay… that’s sweet, in a kind of gross, sentimental value sort of way,” Zenna said, wrinkling her nose.

“My Dad gave it to me. Said I held up my end of the deal…” Shoulders slumping, Hiccup decided to just say it. “I can’t kill dragons, Zen. I don’t _want_ to kill dragons. Tomorrow’s going to be the day one of us gets picked to slay one. My Dad’s definitely going to come to watch, and-and if I get picked, I don’t think I can do it.

“But if I don’t get picked, my Dad, he-he’ll go back to seeing me as the worst Viking Berk has ever seen! He actually _saw_ me as that! H-he actually said that to me! _The worst Viking Berk has ever seen!_

“I’ve waited so long for him to stop seeing me as nothing but a screw-up. Now he’s actually proud of me, but for all the wrong reasons. I don’t…”

Hiccup’s voice cracked as he looked at Zenna, his eyes filled with pain and tears starting to well up in them. “I don’t want to go back to being the screw-up Dad and everybody hates… but I don’t want to be what they want… what they expect me to be. I can’t do it. I may have wanted it before, but now… I don’t. Not anymore… Zen, I can’t…” he whispered, his helmet slipping out of his grasp and falling to the grass with a soft thud.

“Oh, Hiccup…” Zenna pulled her best friend into her arms, hugging him. Melting into her embrace, Hiccup sighed, “What should I do, Zen?” feeling totally lost.

“I don’t really know… I wish I could tell you exactly what to do…” admitted Zenna, still holding him close. “But… hey, maybe the Norns will give you a little luck and let someone else get the glory tomorrow,” she said hopefully.

Letting go, Zenna waited for Hiccup to say something. “I think Astrid has a good chance of winning the ‘honor’ of killing the dragon. She’s wanted it more than any of us,” said Hiccup, shrugging.

“Right, right! Hey, maybe we should take Erland’s advice? Deliberately mess up so someone else gets picked! We could trip, pretend to be sick, maybe let our shields get blasted to bits so we’ll get eliminated…” Zenna started firing off a list of possible tactics they could use then Hiccup spoke.

“You don’t want to kill dragons either, Zen?”

At Hiccup’s question, Zenna’s face turned solemn. “My whole life, I looked up to Elias. I wanted to be just like him.” Clutching her pendant to her chest, Zenna looked up at the stars. “When he died, I was lost. I didn’t know what I should do, what he would have wanted me to do…” Taking a deep breath, Zenna looked Hiccup in the eye.

“These past few weeks with you, Erland, Toothless, Stryka, and Embla… I saw that everything about dragons that Eli and I’ve been taught since we came here… it was all wrong. I don’t know what Elias would say to us if he were here today and if he saw that we’re essentially fraternizing with the enemy…

“But, I do know one thing for certain. Eli would want us to be ourselves. And if deciding to befriend dragons instead of killing them is the best way for us to be ourselves then…”

Zenna smiled, feeling as if a weight had suddenly been lifted off her shoulders and her heart. “I’m a healer, Hiccup. A healer, a Dragon Trainer, and a Dragon Rider… that’s who I want to be,” she said at last. Then her smile dropped. “I just… hope that one day, I’ll be able to tell my parents the truth…” she admitted.

Hiccup nodded, then took Zenna’s hand in his and squeezed it reassuringly. “Whatever happens tomorrow… I got your back, Zen,” he told her.

“And I got yours, Hicc. Weirdos for life?” Zenna grinned, squeezing back.

“Weirdos for life,” Hiccup replied, smiling back.

* * *

“Ugh, I regret everything…” Loki groaned, stumbling down the stairs, his head throbbing like crazy.

“That’s what you get for underestimating your tolerance for alcohol,” Gothi chuckled, filling a tankard with water and handing it over to Loki. She had found her ward wandering around the plaza in a drunken daze late last night, and had had to bodily drag him back to the hut.

“I just drank about two tankards… How can I be this hungover…?” Loki pinched the bridge of his nose, taking the tankard Gothi offered him with a slight nod in thanks.

“Did you get your drinks from the oak barrels near the Great Hall or the ones they’d set up in the plaza?” asked Gothi.

“Plaza,” Loki said, shoveling a spoonful of oats and grimacing.

“Ah, those barrels had the strong stuff in them. Would have been better if you had stuck to ale,” Gothi advised, polishing her staff.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to attend training today… I feel like shit…” Loki mumbled, pushing away his bowl of porridge. His appetite had taken a nosedive and he probably wasn’t going to recover it until lunchtime.

“Well, that’s a shame. Today’s the day I pick who among the recruits gets to kill the dragon in the arena.” Gothi hobbled towards the door. Looking over her shoulder, the elder smiled. “I was even thinking about picking you,” she said before leaving.

It took about five minutes for Loki’s brain to process what Gothi had just said… then he jumped up to his feet. “Wait! Don’t pick Hiccup or Zenna!” he yelled, running outside only to see Gothi’s tiny hunchbacked figure already far off in the distance and headed to the arena.

Despite the ginormous headache, Loki forced himself to go down and head to the arena. Hopefully, he wasn’t too late.

* * *

“Y-you’re really giving this to me?” Zenna’s eyes were wide as she looked at the shield her parents had presented her. A perfect circle of wood painted a dark purple with the Fiersome family crest – a black lightning bolt – and tiny ruby shards dotting its circumference, this shield had been made by Gobber and decorated by Edgar and Henna for Elias when he had been chosen to slay a dragon as part of his initiation two years ago. It was one of three things that had belonged to Zenna’s older brother that had been kept. The other two were Elias’ helmet, which had a place of honor on one of the shelves in her family’s living room, and the other was the two battle sticks she had strapped to her back.

“Your brother would have wanted you to have it, sweetheart,” Henna said softly, her soft brown eyes lovingly gazing at Zenna.

“And you’ll need it today,” Edgar added as he and his wife passed the shield into their daughter’s hands. “Just be careful, and fight smart. Even if you don’t get picked, your mother and I will always be proud of you and of the woman you’ve grown up to be,” he said, his eyes shining with pride.

Zenna embraced her parents and saluted them before joining Hiccup and the rest of the teens.

“What’s our plan?” Hiccup whispered to her.

“We last just a little bit longer than Snotlout in the arena, then we mess up.” Zenna’s eyes scanned the crowd assembled around the arena’s stands. “Where’s Erland?” she wondered out loud.

“I think I saw him walking around drunk last night. Gothi probably didn’t want him to participate today while hungover,” Hiccup replied.

Just then, the two of them spotted Erland stumbling over to Gothi who was standing next to Stoick. He caught their eye and mouthed to them, _‘Do not get picked!’_

Hiccup and Zenna could only offer him nervous smiles and crossed fingers to say, _‘We’re hoping that we don’t!’_ before Gobber ushered them and the other recruits into the ring.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Zenna decided to tap out. Right after Ruffnut joined Snotlout and Fishlegs in the loser corner, she tried to run across the entire length of the arena and tripped. Gasps were heard as the Gronckle’s lava blast missed Zenna by a hair, hitting her shield and sending it flying across the ring.

“You did great, Zen!” Tuffnut hollered before yelping as the Gronckle swung its bulbous tail at him.

Zenna cast a glance upwards to the stands. She saw her parents giving her sympathetic looks. But, judging by how they immediately sat down and held each other once she was out of the blast zone, she could tell that they were relieved.

_‘Now Hiccup and Astrid are the only ones left…’_ thought Zenna as she went up to the stands where Erland was waiting for her.

“It’s just them now,” murmured Zenna.

“I’ve been trying to get that dragon to go for Astrid but she’s too enraged. I can’t reach her…” Erland grumbled, still feeling the sting of his hangover.

“Have you tried convincing Gothi?” Zenna glanced at her mentor, watching the battle alongside Stoick.

“She ‘said,’” Erland made air quotes. “that she would pick whoever defeats the dragon. Believe me, I’ve been trying to coerce her into picking Astrid for the past 20 minutes with no such luck,” he muttered.

Sighing, Zenna leaned against the rails and chewed her lip. Gods, she really hoped that Hiccup wouldn’t need to pull any tricks to get out of this one…

Down in the arena, Astrid hid behind one of the several wooden barriers beside Hiccup. “Stay out of my way! I’m winning this thing,” she said, pushing Hiccup down and giving him a death glare.

“Good. Please, by all means,” gulped Hiccup, noticing the slightly crazed look in the Hofferson’s eyes. Turning around, he gave his father a weak smile. Wearing his helmet and holding his father’s rusty ax, Hiccup looked like a child playing war.

But this wasn’t a game. He and Astrid were the last ones left. It was only a matter of time until the Gronckle, which was currently buzzing about in an agitated state, recovered its strength and started attacking them.

_‘Please, gods… I know you all hate me, and if you guys truly do… please don’t let me get picked for the final exam…’_ he prayed, crouching low behind the barrier.

Meanwhile, Astrid was tucking and rolling from one barrier to another. Her back ramrod straight, she took a deep breath as she heard the buzz of the Gronckle’s wings. “This time! This time, for sure!” she said, her face hard with determination.

She was not going to let scrawny, useless Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third beat her again.

Letting out her best war cry, Astrid charged out of her hiding place!

But it was no use.

The Gronckle was already lying on the stone floor… with Hiccup standing right beside it.

As the crowds burst into ecstatic cheering, Astrid lost her composure. “NO! NO! SON OF A HALF-TROLL! RAT-EATING MUNGE BUCKET!” she yelled, swinging her axe in a rage.

“Those are some colorful swears coming out of her mouth right there…” Erland commented, but his white-knuckled grip on the railings betrayed his true emotions.

Zenna could only bury her face in her hands. Her best friend was going to be thrown into the metaphorical snake pit and she could do nothing.

Stoick called the crowds to order while Hiccup attempted to sneak out. “So, later,” he mumbled, managing a few steps before Gobber pulled him back with his hook hand.

“Not so fast!” Gobber chuckled, thoroughly impressed with his apprentice.

“I’m kinda late for…” Hiccup said lamely before Astrid all but shoved her axe in his face.

“ _What?!_ Late for _what_ , exactly?!” she seethed, murder in her eyes. If he wasn’t so terrified, Hiccup would have imagined smoke pouring out of Astrid’s ears.

“Okay, quiet down. The elder has decided.”

At Stoick’s announcement, a hush came over the entire area as Gothi stepped forward.

“Pick Astrid… Pick Astrid… Pick Astrid…” Erland murmured, hoping against hope that Gothi was listening to him.

Gobber raised his hook hand and let it hover over Astrid.

Gothi shook her head, eliciting disappointed sighs and murmuring from the crowd.

Then, a bit uncertain, Gobber waved his hook over Hiccup’s head.

And Gothi smiled and nodded, the crowds cheering once more.

Zenna was so distraught that she knocked her head against the railing, whimpering, “No… No… Oh, Norns, no…”

Erland could only sigh in defeat as he heard Gobber cry out, “Oh, you’ve done it! You’ve done it, Hiccup! You get to kill the dragon!”

For Hiccup, it’s as if the whole world had tilted and spun around him, leaving him completely disoriented. He barely registered his father’s proud voice crowing, “Ha, ha! That’s my boy!” as Fishlegs hoisted him up onto his shoulder while Snotlout and the Twins cheered him on.

Letting out a sarcastic laugh, Hiccup managed to get a few words out of his suddenly dry mouth. “Oh, yeah! Yes! I can’t wait. I am so…” he said before seeing Erland and Zenna enter the arena, their facial expressions saying the exact same thing.

_“What are you going to do now?”_

Hiccup already had a pretty good idea of what he was going to do next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, looks like Hiccup's in quite a pickle. Next chapter will bring back one of HTTYD's most iconic lines. 
> 
> Read and review whenever and whatever you want ;)
> 
> -GuardianDragon98


	17. Some Not So Good Discoveries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Astrid goes on her first flight and a terrifying discovery leaves Erland/Loki.

**Chapter 17: Some Not So Good Discoveries**

“…LEAVING! We’re leaving,” Hiccup announced as he entered the cove with a rucksack slung over his shoulder, followed by Erland and Zenna. “Let’s pack up. Looks like you and me are taking a little vacation, forever,” he called out to Toothless.

As soon as everyone in the village had finished congratulating him for his win, Hiccup had gone to his house, packed up whatever supplies he would need, and bolted to the cove.

There was no other way. He could not and would not kill a dragon. The best he could do for both himself and Toothless was for the two of them to leave.

As for Erland, he had also packed his bags. It was fortunate that Gothi had been with Stoick, advising the chief for tomorrow’s events, when he had gone back to the hut. After carving one final notch onto his bedpost, Erland packed whatever belongings he had and followed Hiccup to the cove.

Only Zenna wasn’t allowed to join them in running away, but that didn’t stop her from trying to convince them.

“Are you guys _sure_ you won’t need a healer? What if you guys get attacked? Who’s gonna tend to your injuries?” she asked, wringing her hands.

“I’ve learned enough first aid from watching you and Gothi. We’ll manage,” said Erland, looking at her with an almost wistful smile.

“Hicc, _please_.” Zenna gave her best human friend the puppy dog eyes. “I want to come with you, with Stryka,” she pleaded.

“Zen, no.” Hiccup shook his head. “Your parents would be devastated. They…” he sighed and embraced his sister in all but blood. “They already lost Eli. Imagine if they lost _you._ And you’re needed here, Zen,” he murmured, gently kissing her forehead.

Resigned, Zenna let the matter drop. “Just… be careful, okay?” she whispered, encircling her arms around Hiccup’s waist.

“Okay…” Hiccup nodded.

Letting Hiccup go, Zenna turned to Erland. “I’m going to miss you too, Erland. You’re an arrogant pain-in-the-ass… but you’ve also been one of the kindest and funniest guys I’ve ever met,” she admitted.

Erland snorted. “That is the worst yet most touching goodbye anyone’s ever given me,” he chuckled before giving Zenna a hug.

Hiccup smiled slightly before turning to his rucksack, letting the two have their time to say goodbye, and checking its contents. “Ah, man…” he sighed, counting the rolls of bandages and collection of spare parts for Toothless’ tailfin before he heard the distinct sound of a whetstone grinding against steel.

Looking up the rock he had placed his rucksack against, Hiccup found himself staring into blue eyes as hard as steel itself.

_Astrid had followed them._

“Aggh!” Hiccup yelled, catching the attention of Erland and Zenna who were just as shocked as he was to see Astrid.

“Shit… How…?” Erland cursed himself for being caught off guard so easily. _‘Idiot! You were so caught up in such a sentimental moment that you forgot to make sure none of you were being followed!’_ His brain scolded him.

“Wha-What are you doing here?” Hiccup asked, backing away from the rock Astrid was sitting on.

“I want to know what’s going on,” Astrid said simply, coming down from the rock. She fixed her eyes on the scrawny Hooligan heir, her gaze accusatory. “No one just gets as good as you do. _Especially_ you.” She walked over to Hiccup, causing him to back off as she pressed on.

“Astrid…” said Zenna warningly before gulping when she saw the shadows of Toothless and Stryka in the distance.

**_‘Stay hidden. Embla, wherever you are, make sure Toothless and Stryka don’t come any closer,’_** Erland commanded telepathically, feeling just the slightest bit of reassurance when he saw the faint outline of his Changewing leading the shadows of the Night Furies away from the scene.

Astrid glared with all the rage and intensity of hellfire at Hiccup who was already beginning to panic. “Start talking! Are you training with someone?” she asked.

“Uh… training?” Hiccup mumbled.

“Yes, with _us_.” Erland stepped forward, his jade eyes hardening.

“It better not involve this!” Astrid grabbed at Hiccup’s harness.

“I know this looks really bad, but you see… this is, uh…” Hiccup heard the bushes rustle and was pushed away by Astrid, the blonde shield-maiden gasping and looking towards the source of the sound.

**_‘Keep them away!’_** Erland mentally screeched though he remained poker-faced.

**_‘I’m trying! They’re too curious for their own damn good!’_** Embla’s exasperated voice hissed in his head.

“For the record, Astrid, he’s telling the truth. Erland and I have been training with him. I thought you already knew that,” Zenna growled, putting herself in between Hiccup and Astrid.

Desperate, Hiccup scrambled from behind Zenna and tried to lead Astrid away. “You’re right! You’re right! You’re right. I’m through with the lies. I’ve been making… outfits!” he rambled, ignoring the incredulous looks Erland and Zenna gave him. He then clasped Astrid’s hand, placing it against his chest and said, “So, you got me. It’s time everyone knew. Drag me back. Go ahead. Here we go.”

But Astrid wasn’t content with his proposal. Instead, she grabbed Hiccup’s hand and twisted his arm backward.

“Astrid!” Zenna shouted as an audible crack was heard while her brother not by blood but by bond howled in pain.

“OW! _Why_ would you _DO_ that?!” Hiccup exclaimed, his face contorted in agony.

Astrid forced him to the ground. “That’s for the lies,” she said then, to add more injury to injury, dropped her ax handle on the poor boy’s gut. “And _that’s_ for everything else,” she finished.

“Astrid, leave him alone!” Zenna tried to grab the Hofferson shield-maiden from behind only to double over when said shield-maiden jabbed her ax handle into her gut.

“Ouch! Mother of Thor, that hurt!” groaned Zenna, falling flat on her back.

Without a word, Erland rushed at Astrid, the two of them exchanging blows. “I have had…! Enough! Of your attitude!” he grunted as he blocked Astrid’s punches and kicks. When Astrid lashed out at him with her right fist, he sidestepped out of the way and grabbed her wrist then flipped her over onto her back and pinned her down.

Astrid growled, her face red from exertion and embarrassment over being bested by the newcomer again.

Erland huffed, praying to the Norns that Embla, Stryka, and Toothless hadn’t heard them fighting and had decided to investigate.

Then, just when Erland thought he had Astrid subdued, the Hofferson gave a well-aimed kick to his…

“YOOOOOOOOOOWWWWW!”

“Oh, man…” Hiccup moaned, still in pain, as Erland collapsed beside him. Both hands between his legs, Erland squeezed his eyes shut to prevent the tears from coming out. After a minute, he opened them and gave Hiccup a weak glare. “How can you possibly have feelings for that… that… that _she-devil?!_ ” he squeaked out, biting his lip as his crotch continued to hurt something fierce.

Before Hiccup could reply, the dragons came out.

One look at their Riders down on the ground, and Toothless, Stryka, and Embla started growling at the intruder that was Astrid.

Astrid took one look at the two Night Furies and one Changewing and panicked.

“GET DOWN!” she yelled and pushed Hiccup and Zenna down just as the two got up.

**_“LEAVE THEM ALONE!”_** Toothless, Stryka, and Embla roared, charging towards Astrid.

“Run! RUN!” Astrid screamed, gripping her ax tightly, prepared to fight. To her shock, both Hiccup and Zenna tackled her to the ground, screaming, “NO!”

“Hahaha… Justice…” Erland wheezed out, still lying down on the ground.

Embla went to his side and helped him up, wincing in sympathy as he hissed in pain. **_“What did she do to you?”_** she asked him, catlike eyes narrowed into dangerous slits.

In response, Erland pointed to the spot between his legs and whimpered.

Embla hissed, wrapping her tail around him protectively. She then looked at Astrid - who was watching Hiccup and Zenna trying to calm down Toothless and Stryka - with a chilling stare then asked, **_“You want me to melt the flesh off her bones?”_**

****

“As entertaining that would be,” Erland grimaced then turned his attention to Hiccup and Zenna. “I think those two have this under control,” he said and smiled at Embla.

**_‘But thank you for the offer, nonetheless,’_** he mentally added.

Astrid, meanwhile, was at a loss for words. She thought the reason behind Hiccup’s success was due to dumb luck and what little training Zenna and Erland had given him.

But the real reason was that he had learned tricks from fraternizing with the enemies of Berk, the dragons. And two of them were _Night Furies_!

_‘He’s betrayed us…’_ she glanced at Zenna who was frantically trying to calm down the other Night Fury before looking at Erland standing to the side with a Changewing curled protectively around him. _‘THEY’VE betrayed us…’_ she thought.

“Whoa there! Easy, you two! Easy!” Zenna frantically waved her arms as Stryka screeched and flapped her wings at her.

“No. It’s okay! It’s okay… she’s a friend,” said Hiccup soothingly.

“She’s no friend of ours!” Erland hollered, glaring daggers at Astrid.

“Not helping!” Hiccup and Zenna hollered back before, finally, managing to calm down their dragons. They turned around and gave Astrid stern looks. “You scared them,” they said, prompting Astrid to exclaim, “ _I_ scared _them_?!”

Then, she looked at the Night Furies next to Hiccup and Zenna and lowered her voice as she asked, “Who is “them”?”

“Astrid, Toothless, Stryka, and Embla. Toothless, Stryka, and Embla, Astrid.”

Once Hiccup and Zenna made the introductions, all three dragons growled the same greeting.

**_“Hi, Astrid. NOW GO AWAY!”_ **

Astrid didn’t need Erland’s gift to know what the dragons were saying, and she bolted with every intention of reporting the three weirdos to Stoick.

“Da-da-da, we’re dead!” Hiccup deadpanned.

**_“Good riddance,”_** snorted Toothless as he began waddling away.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Where do you think you’re going?!” Hiccup yelped.

**_“To have one final meal if we really are going to be dead in the very near future,”_** rumbled Toothless, even though Hiccup couldn’t understand him.

**_“Better that than facing that blonde bitch again,”_** Stryka huffed as she nuzzled Zenna.

“We have to stop her.” Zenna looked at Hiccup, her brow creased in worry. “If she makes it back to the village, we’re done for,” she said gravely.

“Or we could just go.” Erland folded his arms across his chest, giving Hiccup a calculating look. “That was your plan, wasn’t it?” he asked him.

Hiccup looked down at the ground, one hand fisting into the side of his fur vest. Finally, he hurried over to Toothless. “Toothless, we gotta catch up to her,” he told the Night Fury.

Toothless’ green eyes widened then narrowed. **_“She. Hurt. You,”_** he growled, Erland translating.

“And the whole village will _kill_ you, and Stryka, and Embla if she makes it back to the village.” Hiccup’s bottom lip quivered. “Please, bud. Help me stop her before something bad happens to you,” he pleaded.

**_“I agree with him.”_** Embla had a conspiratorial gleam in her eye.

**_“Does that mean we have to kill her?”_** Stryka asked, tail swishing in unease.

****

**_“No, but…”_** Embla gave Erland a sly smile. **_“We can torture her until she agrees to stay silent about us,”_** she purred.

Erland raised both of his eyebrows before realization struck him. Then his lips curled up into a sadistic grin. “Oh, I like where this is going,” he said before nodding at Hiccup and Zenna. “Come along, you two. We’ve got a shield-maiden to catch,” he declared and climbed onto Embla’s back, cringing as he settled onto the saddle.

“Erland, maybe you should stay here. You did take a pretty hard hit just now,” Zenna cautioned him.

“And miss a chance to see you two kidnap Astrid on dragonback? Unthinkable,” Erland said then smirked at Toothless.

**_‘When you get Astrid, put her in the tallest tree that you can find, Toothless.’_ **

****

Toothless let out a deep rumbling laugh, his scaled lips turning up in a devious smile.

* * *

Meanwhile, Astrid panted as she ran. She’d barely escaped death and, now, she was seething with anger. _‘All this time… All this time! This whole time they’ve been going behind everyone’s backs and siding with the dragons! And all of those performances in the arena… they were all tricks! Odin, curse them! Curse Hiccup, Zenna, and Erland for betraying all of Berk!’_ she thought furiously as she climbed onto a log.

But just as she jumped down, she was plucked from the air by none other than Hiccup and his Night Fury!

“Ahhhhhh!” Astrid wasn’t going to lie to herself this time. She was truly _terrified_. “Oh, Great Odin’s ghost! Oh, this is it! AAAAAAAHHHHHH!” she screamed, utterly helpless as Toothless carried her over to a pine tree and placed her there. She was hanging onto the slender pine branch for dear life, with nothing but pure air and dozens of branches between her and the ground several feet below.

Stryka and Embla soon came into her view, Zenna looking slightly guilty and Erland looking very much amused.

“Sorry, Astrid,” said Zenna, feeling torn. As much as she detested the Hofferson’s attitude, Zenna still had some degree of care and concern for her.

“I’m not,” Erland chuckled as Embla hovered in close, the Changewing snarling at Astrid and freaking her out for good measure.

Astrid, after getting spooked, decided to direct all of her anger towards a certain runt on a Night Fury. “Hiccup, get me _down_ from here!” she yelled, her blue eyes fierce.

“You have to give us a chance to explain,” Hiccup gestured to himself and Zenna and Erland, his tone calm and even.

“I am _not_ listening to _anything_ you three have to say!” Astrid snapped, trying and failing to reach for more stable footing.

“Fine by me! See you in the afterlife!” Zenna called out and pretended to have Stryka turn around.

“Zen!” Hiccup yelped, already feeling stressed.

“Kidding!” Zenna laughed. She had to agree with Erland. Astrid kind of deserved this.

“If you ask me, leaving her in a tree that she can get down from by herself is the least she deserves,” Erland remarked, casually leaning back on Embla’s saddle.

Hiccup sighed. “Then I won’t speak. Just let me _show_ you.” His emerald green eyes stared into bright sapphires. “ _Please, Astrid,”_ he begged.

“I’d do what he says… unless you want to spend the rest of your life up there or risk breaking every bone in your body if you try to get down by yourself,” Zenna pointed out, leaning forward, propping her elbows on Stryka’s head and resting her chin on her hands.

“Well, Astrid, what’s it going to be?” asked Erland, raising an eyebrow at the trapped Hofferson girl.

Astrid eyed them warily before, finally, reaching up to Toothless. She slapped Hiccup’s hand away when the boy offered to help her up, trying her best to ignore the angry Night Fury snarling at her, before getting behind Hiccup on Toothless’ back. _‘Not bad with the design,’_ Astrid thought begrudgingly as she found sitting on the saddle to be quite comfortable. “Now, get me down,” she demanded.

“Toothless, down. _Gently._ ” Hiccup said soothingly.

**_“Oh, I’ll show her gentle.”_** Toothless smirked.

**_“My love, don’t,”_** Stryka sighed, knowing that nothing would stop her mate.

“Three…” Zenna mumbled, having a pretty good idea of what was going to happen next.

**_“This ought to be interesting,”_** Embla hissed softly as Toothless opened his wings.

“Two…”

“See? Nothing to be afraid of,” Hiccup reassured Astrid, unaware of what his dragon was planning.

Erland grinned, locking eyes with Toothless who had a mischievous grin of his own. **_‘Make her scream, Toothless.’_**

“…One.”

Just as Zenna finished counting down, Toothless took off like a cork popping out of a bottle, rocketing up, up, up with Astrid screaming like a banshee.

“And there it is!” Zenna announced, craning her neck upwards to watch the black speck that was Toothless rocketing up higher into the sky.

“Hahahahahahahahahahaha! Yes!” Erland cackled delightedly, forgetting about the dull ache in his crotch as he listened to Astrid’s terrified screams.

Stryka whined, feeling worried, prompting Zenna to announce, “Let’s go make sure they don’t kill themselves!” spurring Stryka and Embla to follow Toothless on his crazy flight.

Hiccup, on the other hand, found that trying to stop an out-of-control Night Fury with your terrified crush grabbing at you from behind to keep herself from sliding off of said out of control Night Fury’s back was next to impossible.

“Toothless! What is _wrong_ with you?! Bad dragon!” he scolded his best dragon friend before giving Astrid a nervous chuckle. “S-sorry! He’s not usually like this…” he said just as Zenna, Stryka, Erland, and Embla caught up with them.

“You might wanna hang on,” Zenna advised him just as Toothless began to drop.

“Oh, no…” Hiccup moaned as Toothless went into a sharp dive towards the ocean. He and Astrid got soaked as they were dunked into the cold ocean twice. “Toothless, what are you doing?! We need her to _like us_!” Hiccup questioned his dragon as they went back up.

**_‘Give her a spin, won’t you?’_** Erland mentally requested, to which Toothless obliged.

“He’s gonna corkscrew!” Zenna alerted Hiccup before Toothless began to twirl in the air.

“And now the spinning,” Hiccup drawled, Astrid yelping as they were subjected to dizzying spins. “Thank you for nothing, you useless reptile.” At this point, his voice was oozing with his trademark sarcasm.

**_“Oh, you’ll be thanking me later, Hiccup,”_** Toothless chuffed as he continued his stunts.

“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?” Zenna deadpanned, noticing Erland’s gleeful look.

“Very much so,” replied Erland, getting an apple from Embla’s saddlebag and using his dagger to core it and halve it into two pieces. He fed one half to Embla and ate the other half, chewing with a big grin on his face.

**_“That girl deserves to be taught a lesson,”_** Embla purred, her eyes focused on Toothless.

**_“Damn right. No one messes with our hatchlings!”_** Stryka huffed as she and Embla followed Toothless.

Astrid could hardly bear to look around. Everything was moving around so fast, she couldn’t keep up. The only thing keeping her from falling to her death were her arms which were tightly locked around Hiccup’s thin waist. As much as she detested the boy, he was her only anchor in this world up in the clouds. Opening her eyes just a crack, she saw Zenna and Erland – totally at ease – on the backs of their dragons.

“Give up, Ms. Perfect Warrior?” Erland asked tauntingly. If she had her ax and was back on stable ground, she would have killed him on the spot.

Then Zenna sighed and gave her a stern look that reminded Astrid so much of Elias whenever he got upset. “Just apologize already,” said Zenna.

Finally, about a minute into Toothless’ spinning, Astrid broke.

“Okay! I am sorry! I’m sorry! Just get me off of this thing!”

**_‘Ah, finally!’_** Feeling a little dizzy himself, Toothless stopped spinning and pulled up.

“See? Now that wasn’t so hard, was it?” Zenna grinned cheekily before she and Stryka decided to let Hiccup and Astrid have some alone time, flying on ahead.

“And she finally learns her lesson,” Erland chuckled before Embla took him up higher into the clouds.

Breathing in deeply, he leaned back until he was lying on the saddle face up. The sun was setting, turning the skies into a watercolor painting of exquisite beauty. The clouds turned soft pink in the setting sun’s light, stained with blues and lavenders.

_‘The skies of Midgard aren’t so different from the skies of Asgard… Mother and I used to watch the sunsets all the time, and they were always so beautiful…’_ Loki thought to himself, feeling a small tug of sadness.

He missed Frigga. He missed home.

Another thought, a more troubling one, came to Loki, making his heart grow heavy.

_‘Will I ever be able to go back there? Or am I stuck here, doomed to never be Loki again and to remain hiding behind a false identity?’_

As if sensing her Rider’s inner turmoil, Embla flew into a cloud. They flew on through the pinkish whiteness in silence before she decided to speak. **_“The sky is ever-changing, Serpent Tongue. But we dragons always feel at home when we’re here; because, like the sky, we, too, are ever-changing.”_** She looked over her shoulder to Loki who listened to her intently.

**_“I know you’re torn about whether you really belong here or back on Asgard but… don’t focus on the place. Focus on the people you’re surrounded by. Wherever you are, as long as you’re with the ones you love, you’re never far from home,”_** she said in an almost sagely tone.

Smiling a little, Loki sat up and leaned down to gently hug Embla’s neck. “Since when are you so wise and sagely, Embla?” he asked teasingly.

**_“Hey, I’ve been around for twenty years. You learn things,”_** Embla replied.

“Well, I’ve been around for much longer, but it looks like the universe still has a lot to teach me,” Loki laughed as they enjoyed the view.

* * *

Meanwhile, Astrid was getting used to the feeling of flying. Opening her eyes, she was treated to a sight that took her breath away. As Toothless slowly glided above the clouds, she found herself getting lost in the beauty of it all. Back when she kept her feet on the ground, she would look up at the sky and wonder what it would be like to touch the clouds. Then her warrior’s mind would scoff at her for daydreaming about impossible things, and she would forget about her hopes of touching the clouds. Now here she was, on the back of a dragon with Hiccup the Useless, and surrounded by clouds.

Entranced, Astrid lifted her arms and was awed to see her hands go through a cloud as if it were nothing but air. She felt the coolness of the cloud’s condensation and she smiled, lifting both arms up as she and Hiccup flew on. Her childhood self was, without a doubt, ecstatic to finally fulfill her old fantasy.

But the chance to touch the clouds didn’t prepare Astrid for the next surprise, and that was a perfect dragon’s-eye view of Berk as night fell.

Down below, the village slowly settled into night and the torches were lit, transforming Berk into a patchwork of little lights dotting the landscape. All around Hiccup, Astrid, and Toothless, the sky awakened with a brilliant aurora, dappling Toothless’ dark hide in different colors.

_‘I wonder how long he’s been able to see this view?’_ Astrid thought, focusing her gaze now on Hiccup. The boy’s face was completely relaxed with barely unrestrained wonder in his eyes as he looked around. He looked so at home up here in the sky, with Toothless, that Astrid wondered if the shy boy she had abandoned all those years ago was more dragon than Viking.

As she relaxed against Hiccup and rested her chin on his shoulder, Astrid found that she didn’t mind. She liked this, this moment she and Hiccup were having together.

He was changing her world. And, for someone like her, who wasn’t very comfortable with change, Astrid found herself liking it.

“Alright, I admit it. This is pretty cool. It’s… _amazing_ ,” Astrid said at last before looking down at Toothless. “He’s amazing.” She gently brushed her hand against Toothless’ side, for once, not repulsed at all.

“Don’t forget her,” Zenna piped up as Stryka descended, flying next to them. Stryka warbled and nuzzled Toothless lovingly, who trilled happily.

Astrid giggled then glanced at Zenna, who smiled. Her blue eyes became sad and, summoning all the courage within herself, Astrid finally apologized.

“I’m so sorry, Zen. For everything.”

Zenna blinked, not expecting it, before her face softened. “Apology accepted, Astrid. Can… we be friends again?” she asked hopefully.

“Yes. Of course,” Astrid felt tears prick at the corners of her eyes but she willed them not to fall as she nodded.

Hiccup breathed out a sigh of relief. The two women who mattered to him most were finally reconciled.

That’s when Erland and Embla returned. Seeing the trio happy and at ease with one another, Erland felt relieved. At least Hiccup and Zenna had won Astrid over. However, when Astrid locked eyes with him, Erland frowned. He still didn’t trust her.

Knowing that it would take more than just an apology to calm the newcomer’s anger, Astrid decided to focus on something far more worrying. “So what now?” she asked then tightened her grip around Hiccup’s waist.

“Hiccup, your final exam is tomorrow. You know you’re going to have to kill a…” she lowered her voice so Toothless, Stryka, and Embla wouldn’t hear. “kill a dragon,” she whispered.

“Don’t remind me,” Hiccup sighed, now realizing that he had a whole new problem on his hands.

But it wasn’t just Hiccup who had a new dilemma to deal with. Already, Toothless and Stryka could hear it…

“Uh, guys…” Zenna mumbled, noticing Stryka’s ears pricking up as well as Toothless’.

Embla hissed and shook her head, prompting Erland to ask, “Embla, what is it?” before he heard the voice.

**_“Food… Bring me… food… Bring me prey… Feed me…”_ **

****

“Guys?” Zenna called out uncertainly before the dragons suddenly banked sharply to the right.

While Hiccup, Astrid, and Zenna yelped at the sudden drop of altitude, Erland found himself unable to react as a new voice invaded his consciousness. It was soft but carried a dangerous undertone, a primeval voice that ensnared his mind in its deadly grip and wouldn’t let go.

**_“Come… Bring me food… Your Queen demands food…”_ **

****

_“Yes, my Queen…”_ he mumbled, his eyes glassy and unfocused, shocking Hiccup and Zenna.

“Erland?” Hiccup felt a shiver go down his spine when his friend ignored him, his face going slack-jawed.

Embla growled and hissed, frantically shaking her head in a bid to get the strange voice out of her mind. **_“What’s wrong with him? Whose voice is that?!”_** she growled to Toothless and Stryka who looked at her with both fear and guilt.

“Toothless, what’s happening?” Hiccup lightly tugged at the edges of the saddle, to try and get Toothless to stop, but his dragon kept going. “What is it?” he asked, the euphoria from earlier gone and quickly replaced by fear.

“Stryka, what’s going on? Where are you taking us?” Zenna asked, fear gripping her heart.

**_“I’m hungry…”_ **

****

_“She’s hungry…”_ Erland announced dazedly just as the others realized that they were now in the middle of a huge flock of dragons.

“Get down!” Hiccup hissed, the girls ducking their heads before any dragons noticed them. Erland remained sitting upright, slightly slouched like a puppet whose strings had gone slack.

“Hiccup, something’s wrong. It’s like he’s in some sort of trance,” Astrid whispered then looked at all of the dragons. “What’s going on?”

“I don’t know.” Hiccup glanced at Erland who remained unresponsive as Embla frantically growled at him. Whatever was bringing all the dragons in, it was also affecting Erland. “Toothless. You’ve got to get us out of here, bud,” he whispered urgently.

But Toothless and Stryka ignored them, which made Embla furious. **_“What are you hiding, you Furies?!”_** she screeched.

**_“Shut up!”_** A Monstrous Nightmare flying close to them snarled.

**_“I wasn’t talking to you!”_** Embla snarled back and prepared to fire an acid glob at him only to be interrupted by Toothless.

**_“She means no disrespect! She’s new!”_** the male Night Fury barked while Stryka coaxed Embla into flying closer to them.

**_“Just make sure Erland doesn’t get noticed… We’re almost there…”_** she whispered to Embla, who narrowed her eyes at her suspiciously.

Unaware of their dragons’ conversation, Hiccup, Astrid, and Zenna looked around at all the dragons and noticed that each of them had some form of prey clutched in either their claws or jaws. Yaks, sheep, fish, an animal that resembled a hippo…

“It looks like they’re hauling in their kill,” Hiccup observed.

“Uh, what does that make us?” Astrid gulped.

“Shhh!” Zenna shushed her, face pale.

**_“We have to stay hidden when we get to the Nest… If She catches a whiff of them, they’re done for,”_** Toothless warbled to Stryka.

**_“Got it,”_** she replied, nodding.

Now Embla was more confused than furious. **_“Who’s ‘She’?”_** she asked before the voice invaded her mind again. This time, she couldn’t fully resist the pull.

**_“COME! COME, MY LOYAL SLAVES! COME AND FEED YOUR QUEEN!”_ **

****

_“Come and feed the Queen…”_ Erland whispered, still in a trance, as all of the dragons descended. Their growls and roars swirled in a mad symphony as they approached an island dominated by a massive volcano, molten lava oozing out of the volcano’s cracks and making the whole place glow eerily in the smoky blackness of night. Toothless, Stryka, and Embla flew inside a large tunnel with all the other dragons before emerging into a large cavern filled to the brim with dragons.

“The Dragons’ Nest…” Zenna whispered.

“What my dad wouldn’t give to find this…” Hiccup could hardly believe that so many dragons could fit into one place.

The whole cavern was teeming with dragons. Gronckles, Nadders, Zipplebacks, Nightmare, and even Terrors – all of the species commonly seen in the Barbaric Archipelago were flying in with their kills and dropping them down a massive hole in the very middle of the cavern, the sulfurous stench hanging heavy in the air.

Toothless, Stryka, and Embla landed on a partially concealed rock ledge, where their Riders could see what was happening. “Well it’s satisfying to know that all of our food has been dumped down a hole,” Hiccup said sarcastically as fish and livestock were dropped into the void.

“They’re not eating any of it,” Astrid said, bewildered.

“I don’t think they’re dumping it. It looks like they’re making an offering… but to what?” Zenna wondered out loud.

One exhausted Gronckle buzzed into the cavern, regurgitating a single fish into the hole.

All of the dragons roared in alarm and backed away… just as a thunderous roar echoed from the depths of the volcano, sending Hiccup, Zenna, and Astrid’s ears ringing.

At the same time, Erland snapped out of his stupor and cried out in pain as he heard the voice roar in his mind, its fury directed at the unfortunate Gronckle.

**_“HOW… DARE… YOU!!!”_ **

****

**_‘Holy shit.’_** Embla’s horrified voice reverberated in Erland’s skull as he and his friends watched a gigantic dragon’s head emerge from the cavern’s depths and swallow the poor Gronckle whole!

Zenna gasped, violet eyes wide, while Astrid whispered, “What… is… _that_?” prompting Zenna to point a shaking finger and answer, “I’ll take a wild guess and say _that_ is the reason why the dragons have been raiding Berk…” looking totally horrified.

That’s when Erland groaned out, “Oh, Norns… what happened…?” making Hiccup, Zenna, and Astrid turn their heads sharply to him.

“Oh, thank gods…” Hiccup breathed out as Toothless and Stryka flanked Embla.

“Wh-where are we?” Erland looked around, bewildered.

**_“Oh,_** **now _you decide to snap out of it!”_** Embla growled, her tone near hysterical as her tendrils gently felt the young man’s face for fevers or anything else that signaled ill health.

“Erland, we’re in the Nest. Y-you were in some sort of trance!” Zenna said worriedly then looked fearfully at the massive dragon slowly descending back into the volcano’s depths. “Because of that… thing!”

Erland took one look at the monster that was the Queen and paled. Meanwhile, the dragons had noticed the two Night Furies.

**_“Destin and Erika have returned!”_ **

****

**_“Holy Mother of Thor, why did they bring_ ** **humans _in here?!”_**

****

Erland clutched his head, the multitude of voices too much for his brain to handle. **_‘Please stop… Be quiet… Let me think!’_** he cried out in his mind, silence greeting him seconds later.

Looking up, he was stunned to see the dragons closer to him and his friends bowing their heads at him. He heard murmurs of **_“Loki…”_** and ** _“Serpent Tongue…”_**

****

One Zippleback approached Toothless, Stryka, and Embla, his twin heads bearing identical looks of graveness. **_“You three need to get those young ones and the Serpent Tongue out of here,_ now!” **he hissed at them urgently.

**_“WAIT… I SMELL…”_ **

****

“She knows…” Erland trembled and clung onto Embla. “She knows we’re here,” he said faintly.

“Alright, buddy, we gotta get out of here,” Hiccup told Toothless urgently before the Queen roared again.

**_“HUMANS! GIVE THEM TO ME!”_ **

****

“Now!” Hiccup shouted the same time the Zippleback yelled to Toothless, Stryka, and Embla, **_“We’ll make a protective circle to buy you three some time! Now, go!”_**

****

Two Night Furies and a Changewing, each carrying precious human cargo, flew out of the volcano as fast as their wings could carry them while the brave Zippleback led his nestmates in a frenzied flight around the Queen’s head to distract Her.

**_“Twinshot!”_** Toothless and Stryka looked behind them and saw, to their horror, the Queen grab their Zippleback friend by his wing.

**_“Go! Keep Loki and the humans safe! They may be our only hope!”_** Twinshot roared before the Queen swallowed him up.

Then the Queen’s voice entered Erland’s brain once again, sending spikes of fear into his heart and spurring him to have Embla fly faster as Her insidious voice bellowed in his mind.

**_“YOU THINK YOURSELF GREATER THAN ME, LOKI SERPENT TONGUE?! I HAVE ALREADY INFILTRATED YOUR MIND AND I CAN DO IT AGAIN! THE NEXT TIME YOU DARE FLY YOUR WEAK MOUNT INTO MY DOMAIN, I WILL DEVOUR YOU BOTH, AND YOUR LITTLE HUMAN FRIENDS AND THEIR NIGHT FURIES TOO! YOU ARE NOTHING, LOKI SERPENT TONGUE! NOTHING!!!”_ **

****

**_“Loki…?”_** Embla hissed softly as he buried his face in her neck, trembling.

* * *

For a while, at least until the Nest was far behind them, neither the humans nor their dragons spoke.

“That’s why…” Hiccup murmured, breaking the silence, noticing how distraught Toothless and Stryka were ever since they saw the Queen swallow up that Zippleback from earlier. No doubt that they’d been friends.

“We’ve always been wrong about you, haven’t we?” Zenna asked Stryka softly, gently petting her.

**_“We’ve been wrong about you guys, too,”_** Stryka warbled in reply.

“Guys…” Astrid mumbled, seeing that Erland was still in distress. Hiccup and Zenna turned their attention to Erland, who was still shaking. The young man’s face was chalk-white in the moonlight and he was trembling all over, breath coming out in weak puffs as if he couldn’t get in enough air.

“Erland, it’s okay. We’re miles away from the Nest. That thing can’t reach us anymore,” Hiccup said, trying to sound reassuring.

“No, it’s not!” Erland exclaimed, startling them all. “That thing… that _beast_ took control over my mind! I couldn’t even block Her out! I couldn’t even _try_ to block Her out!”

“What is he…?” Astrid began to ask before Hiccup quickly said, “Erland can communicate with dragons,” Stunning her.

“Well… we’ll just have to stay away from the Nest. I-If we’re nowhere near it, that monster can’t get into your head,” Zenna suggested.

“It won’t help matters, Zen. As long as She’s still there, as long as She’s still alive… this war will never end,” Erland muttered, calming down slightly.

“It totally makes sense,” Astrid said as they arrived at the cove. “It’s like a giant beehive. They’re the workers, and that’s their Queen. It controls them.”

When Toothless, Stryka, and Embla landed, she got off with a plan already formed. “Let’s find your Dad,” she told Hiccup and began to leave only to stop in her tracks by him and Zenna crying out, “ _No!_ ”

“Not yet. They’ll… kill Toothless, Stryka, and Embla. Astrid, we have to think this through, carefully,” Hiccup told her seriously.

“The Chief won’t believe us unless we have proof. And the only proof we have are _them_.” Zenna gestured to the dragons. “Frankly, I don’t think Stoick will accept them warmly,” she pointed out.

Astrid was shocked. She turned to Erland only for him to shake his head, silently agreeing with the two. “Hiccup, Zenna, we just discovered the Dragons’ Nest. The thing we’ve been after since Vikings first sailed here. And you two and Erland want to keep it a secret?! To-to protect your pet dragons?! Are you serious?!” she asked, frustrated.

Hiccup, Zenna, and Erland didn’t hesitate to say, _“Yes.”_ In unison.

For a minute, Astrid felt like she was talking to three entirely different people. Hiccup was more confident now, his stance steady and sure. So was Zenna, all doubts gone in the way her eyes sparkled with determination. And Erland, he looked… more intimidating than usual, as if some primal power was hidden in those jade eyes of his, something powerful and ancient that it made her feel uneasy.

“Okay,” she said at last. “Then what do we do?”

“Just… give us until tomorrow. I’ll figure something out,” Hiccup sighed, his confident stance momentarily broken as doubt entered his mind. How was he going to fix this? There was no doubt that the Queen had to be taken down if the dragons were to be freed…

But how?

“Okay,” Astrid sighed before punching Hiccup in the arm. “That’s for kidnapping me,” she told him, the boy wincing.

Zenna and Erland shrugged at Hiccup when he looked at them for support while Toothless, Stryka, and Embla went to drink from the pond.

Then Astrid pulled Hiccup in close and lightly pecked his cheek. “That’s for… _everything else,_ ” she mumbled, ears turning pink although they couldn’t see it, before running out of the cove.

**_“She didn’t even get her ax,”_** Stryka gurgled in amusement.

**_“Oh, I’m sure Hiccup will give it back to her tomorrow,”_** Toothless warbled, liking what he saw.

**_“O.h the poor dear. Look at him. His brain probably can’t process what just happened!”_** Embla chortled.

“Wh-what’re you looking at?!” Hiccup stuttered, seeing Zenna and Erland and their dragons looking at him while trying their best not to giggle.

Then Zenna couldn’t help herself. “Hiccup and Astrid…” she sang followed by Erland crooning, “…sitting in a tree!”

Hiccup groaned and covered his face with his hands as the two sang out, “ _K.I.S.S.I.N.G!”_ while doing a silly dance around the cove.

**_“First comes love!”_** Toothless warbled, getting into the spirit of things.

**_“Second comes marriage!”_** Stryka pranced about, wagging her tail.

**_“Third comes Hiccup with the baby carriage!”_** Embla whistled.

“Unbelievable…” Hiccup sighed, rolling his eyes, as his friends laughed.

But, once the laughter subsided, Zenna and Erland looked at him seriously. “You really think you’ll be able to figure something out by tomorrow, Hicc?” asked Zenna, clutching her silver pendant in anxiety.

“Well, Zenna, I won’t know until I try,” Hiccup said as strongly as he could, before looking at the dragons worriedly.

Even though they were fast and strong, Toothless, Stryka, and Embla couldn’t take on a behemoth like the Queen of the Nest all by themselves. They were going to need more than just three dragons…

They were going to need an army of their own. And the only way they could get such an army was if…

“I’m going to have to show everyone that we were wrong about the dragons. If we’re going to end this war… we’re going to have to bridge the gap between our kinds.” Looking at his friends in the eye, Hiccup announced his plan.

“ _I’m going to train the Monstrous Nightmare in the arena tomorrow.”_

“That is the most insane plan I’ve ever heard,” Erland stated, making Hiccup look at him uncertainly. Then, he smiled. “And it’s a plan I support wholeheartedly.”

“No matter what happens tomorrow, Hiccup, we’ll be there for you,” Zenna chimed in, giving Hiccup a hug.

Hiccup smiled at his two best human friends then went over to Toothless. “Don’t worry, bud. I’m not gonna let _anything_ happen to you,” he promised. Toothless warbled and gave him a happy lick and a gummy smile, nuzzling him affectionately.

“We won’t let anyone and anything hurt you. _We promise,_ ” Zenna reassured Stryka, the dragoness purring softly as she petted her.

“I stand by what I said before. The three of us will fight with everything we have to keep you three safe,” Erland gently rested his hand against Embla’s snout. **_‘And if I have to face that beast head-on, even if there’s a chance She’ll try to invade my mind again, then so be it,’_** he mentally added, Embla warbling comfortingly to him.

Wishing each other goodnight and promising to see each other tomorrow, Hiccup, Zenna, and Erland left the cove. “I’ll give this back to Astrid, if that’s alright with you?” Erland picked up Astrid’s ax and showed it to Hiccup, the boy nodding as they climbed out of the cove.

**_“Bye-bye, Zenna! See you tomorrow!”_** Stryka crooned to her Rider, flicking her right front paw left and right. Zenna, catching her eye, smiled and waved back before leaving with the boys.

But once their humans were gone, Toothless, Stryka, and Embla sighed.

**_“May the Norns protect them…”_** Embla whispered before taking flight and disappearing into the night sky, heading to the safety of the trees for the night.

**_“Toothless, if the Queen finds them…”_** Stryka managed to say before Toothless nuzzled her.

**_“That won’t happen, Stryka,”_** said Toothless as he licked his mate’s nose and cheek, Stryka moaning in pleasure.

**_“Just keep it down, you two!”_** Embla’s voice sounded from somewhere above the cove, making the two Night Furies feel a little embarrassed.

However, the embarrassment faded as Toothless looked to his beautiful Stryka, his starlight, tail swishing nervously. **_“Stryka… I-I know this might not be a good time, but… c-can we…?”_** he asked bashfully.

Stryka gazed at him through half-lidded eyes. **_“Mmm… C’mere,”_** she purred before pouncing on him.

**_“Oh boy… Looks like I’m heading back to my cave for tonight,”_** Embla sighed, hearing the two Furies starting to go at it, and flew off.

* * *

Upon arriving at the village, Hiccup, Zenna, and Erland split up.

“Night, boys…” Zenna bit her lip and added, “Good luck to us all… We’re gonna need it,” before heading home.

Hiccup glanced at Erland. “My plan’s insane,” he admitted.

“I know. But it’s usually the insane plans that end up working the best,” Erland said then rested his hand on his shoulder. “Being confident in your own plan helps. As long as you have conviction, you’ll never falter,” he advised him.

Hiccup nodded, smiling slightly. Then, without warning, he flung his arms around Erland in a hug. Stunned, Erland put down Astrid’s ax and hugged Hiccup back, albeit a bit stiffly.

“Thank you…” Hiccup murmured gratefully. Not many people believed in him or in any of his ideas. To have Erland believe in him… it was like having Elias back… like having an older brother again.

While Erland wasn’t like Elias in terms of personality, he certainly knew when and how to give the big brotherly support Hiccup needed, and that was already more than enough for him.

“Um… no problem…” Erland mumbled, feeling a bit shy all of a sudden. Hiccup released him then looked at the axe on the ground. “Astrid’s house is the third house to the left of the blacksmith’s stall. Goodnight,” he said then left.

Picking up the ax, Erland squared his shoulders and headed for the Hofferson abode. Some things still needed to be said.

* * *

Astrid sighed as she gazed up at the night sky, the memories of her first flight with Hiccup still fresh in her mind. As worrying as the situation with the Queen was, she couldn’t help but hope that whatever plan Hiccup would come up with, it would work and she would get to fly with him on Toothless again in the future…

“Psst!”

Looking down, Astrid was surprised to find Erland standing outside her house with her ax. _‘I forgot all about that…’_ she thought as she tiptoed out of her room, taking great caution not to wake her sleeping parents, before venturing outside.

“Thank you,” she said, making a move to take her ax only to get startled as Erland held the curved middle of her own weapon against her throat! “What the…?!” she yelped before Erland’s stern gaze silenced her.

“I’ll keep this simple.” Erland glared at her. “I _still_ don’t trust you,” he said coldly.

Astrid gulped but fought her nerves down and glared right back. “I’m on your side, Erland. I know how much the dragons mean to Hiccup and Zenna. I haven’t told anyone about them, I swear,” she said.

“That still doesn’t make up for all the years you stood by and let Hiccup get beaten down physically and emotionally by everyone, for abandoning him and Zenna when they needed you,” Erland countered, feeling just the tiniest bit of satisfaction when he saw the realization dawn upon the girl’s face. He handed Astrid her ax then gave one final barb.

“You think yourself worthy of Hiccup’s love and Zenna’s friendship? _Prove it_ ,” said Erland as he stepped back and folded his arms.

For a minute, Astrid just stared at him. The guilt was eating her alive. What Erland just said… it was all true.

She had abandoned the two people who could only ever see her as more than just a warrior, the two people she had once promised to stand by no matter what… all because she wanted to be perfect in the eyes of the village.

Had it been worth it? Yes, but only on a superficial level. The Berkians respected her, but that was it. They never truly acknowledged how she felt most of the time, opting to just focus on what made her great and what could be done to improve her.

Hiccup and Zenna… they didn’t care about her status. All they’d wanted was for her to be their friend again, to laugh and joke like they used to do in their childhood. She had pushed them aside, nearly losing them for good.

But that was then. Now, Astrid was determined to make amends.

“I will,” she declared, making Erland smile a little. Then she blushed and mumbled, “I’m… sorry that I kicked you in the balls…”

Surprisingly, Erland laughed. “I have to admit, Astrid, you’re definitely one hell of a warrior,” he said before leaving, feeling his respect for the Hofferson girl go up just by a notch or so. Then he looked over his shoulder and grinned mischievously. “I look forward to your wedding with Hiccup, by the way!” he called out, laughing again when Astrid yelled, “Shut up!”

His jovial mood didn’t last, however, as the memory of the Queen devouring dragons entered Loki’s mind, followed by echoes of her taunts…

**_“YOU THINK YOURSELF GREATER THAN ME, LOKI SERPENT TONGUE?! I HAVE ALREADY INFILTRATED YOUR MIND AND I CAN DO IT AGAIN!”_ **

****

**_“YOU ARE NOTHING, LOKI SERPENT TONGUE! NOTHING!!!”_ **

****

_‘I will not let Her control my mind again. I won’t let ANYONE ever control me ever again,’_ Loki thought to himself as he climbed the steps to Gothi’s hut, not even noticing the height.

“There you are. Where’ve you been?” Gothi sighed when he entered the hut.

“Out,” Loki said flatly then cringed, realizing he’d been disrespectful.

But Gothi needed to only look him in the eyes to see that he had far too many things on his mind, and she understood. “Well, you look pretty exhausted. Best to head off to bed,” she said calmly, tottering to her own room.

With a heavy sigh, Loki climbed up to his loft where he collapsed into bed and was instantly out like a light.


	18. In Which Everything Goes Wrong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The chapter title pretty much sums it all up.

**Chapter 18: In Which Everything Goes Wrong**

_Muspelheim on Midgard._

_That was really the only way to describe what he was seeing._

_Loki dropped to his knees, his wide eyes looking around in horror at what was once Berk. All of the houses had been torched to the ground, fire covered the landscape as Vikings, sheep, and yaks ran around in a frenzy. Some were bathed in flames, their agonized screams turning Loki’s stomach. He felt something warm and wet staining his hands and looked down, bile rising in his throat as he saw the blood that had seeped into the ground, the crimson liquid looking black in the firelight._

_Loki stood up, wiping his hands on his… Hang on, these were his old clothes – a green and black leather coat. The intense orange light of the flames illuminated the blood on the ground like a grotesque mirror, and Loki saw that he was no longer Erland… but his Asgardian form. He was himself again._

_Suddenly, he heard a loud rumble and turned around to see the cliff where Gothi’s house stood, in flames, crumble into the sea. Loki made out the tiny figure of Gothi falling and heard the old woman’s screams, the sound abruptly stopped as she disappeared into the fiery chaos. He felt a scream tear out of his mouth._

_This couldn’t be real…_

**_“See what you’ve done?”_ **

****

_The Red Death emerged from the smoke and ash, her massive rotting wings rising up. The Great Hall was reduced to rubble as her gigantic paw stepped on it. Loki’s heart dropped into his stomach, the screams of the poor men, women, and children ringing in his ears as they were crushed._

_The Red Death growled as she stood before Loki, her stance triumphant. **“I must thank you, Serpent Tongue, for leading me to this feast,”** she told him._

“What?” _Loki breathed out before hearing Hiccup and Zenna._

“Erland!”

“Erland, where are you?!”

“Hiccup! Zenna!” _yelled Loki as his two friends came flying out of the smoke on Toothless and Stryka’s backs, the two of them battered, burnt, and bruised with their clothes and faces stained black with soot._

_‘Embla… Where’s Embla?!’ thought Loki, seeing that his Changewing wasn’t with them._

**_“LOKI!”_ **

****

_Relief flooded the God of Mischief’s veins as he saw the Changewing flying close behind the two Night Furies. He watched the five of them circle the Red Death, firing plasma blasts and acid blobs at the beast._

_‘I have to help them… Maybe I can shapeshift again…’ Loki thought as he tried to summon forth his magic so he could transform into a raven and fly up to Embla so he could join the battle._

_But before Loki could do that, the Red Death swatted Hiccup, Toothless, Zenna, Stryka, and Embla out of the sky with her wing!_

“NO!” _Abandoning all thoughts of using magic, Loki ran in the direction of where they had fallen. To his shock, his friends were still alive, struggling to get up._

_Reaching them, Loki tried to help Hiccup and Zenna to their feet. But, upon seeing him, the two young Vikings recoiled in fear, clutching each other tightly._

“Hiccup, Zenna, we don’t have much time! We need to go!” _said Loki frantically, seeing the Red Death coming ever so closer to them._

“Who are you?!” _Zenna rasped, blood dripping out of her mouth as she coughed._

“I-I’m Erland…” _Loki whispered, his heart breaking as his two friends crawled away from him, unable to recognize him._

“No… You’re not him… You’re not Erland…” _Hiccup mumbled, shaking his head, blood streaming down his face from a gash on his forehead._

**_“That’s right, little Vikings. He is not your friend.”_ ** _The Red Death landed just a foot away from Hiccup and Zenna. **“He is Loki, the Serpent-Tongued God of Mischief… and my dutiful slave who led me to your island,”** she hissed and, to Loki’s surprise, her words came out in Norse… which meant that Hiccup and Zenna could understand her._

_It felt as if all of the breath had been knocked out of his lungs. Loki looked around at all the death and destruction… and the realization hit him harder than a strike from Mj_ _ö_ _lnir._

_He’d fallen under the Red Death’s spell and had led her to Berk._

_But when? How? He couldn’t recall a thing! Not that it mattered anymore. It was too late. Now Berk and its people were all in flames…_

_All because of him._

“I…” _Loki reached out to Hiccup and Zenna, the two of them reeling away from him._

“Monster…” _Hiccup and Zenna breathed out, their eyes filled with fear. That one word and the fact that the two young Vikings had said it was enough to tear Loki’s heart to shreds._

_Nearby, Toothless, Stryka, and Embla were desperately crawling to the two humans, their wings bent at odd angles and blood seeping out of the numerous cuts and wounds on their bodies._

_Then, to Loki’s horror, the Red Death opened her mouth and swallowed up both Night Furies and Changewing._

“NOOOOO!”

“STRYKAAAAA!”

_Loki screamed as well. He didn’t know what was more painful – seeing Embla get eaten or hearing Hiccup and Zenna’s anguished screams as their best dragon friends became the Red Death’s next meal._

**_“And now for the main course.”_ ** _The Red Death licked her lips._

“Come with me! RUN!” _Loki yelled to Hiccup and Zenna. But the two young Vikings – his only real friends in all the realms – refused to budge. The last Loki ever saw of Hiccup and Zenna were their frightened faces peering up at him with utter betrayal in their eyes before they, too, were devoured._

“NO!”

* * *

Bolting upright, Loki blinked his tear-filled eyes. He looked around wildly, his frazzled mind calming down slightly as he saw the familiar mold-spotted walls of his loft. Running his hand over one of the bedposts and feeling the notches he had carved into it, Loki took a shuddery breath.

A nightmare. It was just a nightmare.

“Are you alright?”

Gasping, Loki looked towards the doorway and saw Gothi watching him with a worried look on her ancient face.

_‘She’s alive!’_ Loki thought, the image of Gothi falling into the inferno of his nightmare vanishing like smoke before he managed a slight nod. He noticed that his hands were shaking and he quickly covered them with his blanket.

Gothi’s brow furrowed but then she shrugged. “Well then… come downstairs. It’s a big day for all of us,” she said.

_‘Hiccup’s final exam. Norns, I hope his plan works…’_ Loki prayed as he followed Gothi downstairs.

Unbeknownst to Loki, Gothi was keeping an eye on him. The elder knew he had had a nightmare, judging by the way the boy kept looking around – as if making sure that everything around him was real – and the trembling of his hands as they ate breakfast. She sighed to herself. Maybe later, she would sit the boy down so they could have a talk.

* * *

“Hey, you look like… _Oompf_!”

Zenna barely got those words out before Erland engulfed her in a hug. Stumbling back a bit, she cast a confused glance at her parents, who were just as bewildered as she was. They’d just been on their way to the arena when they bumped into Erland and Gothi who were also going to watch Hiccup’s final exam. Erland had taken one look at her before rushing up to embrace her.

It was kind of nice, actually, Erland hugging her. Zenna certainly hadn’t expected her somewhat aloof friend to be suddenly comfortable with hugging, but it felt quite comforting.

“As I was saying… you look like crap,” mumbled Zenna as Erland hugged her as if his life depended on it.

“Nightmare…” Erland mumbled, burying his face into her shoulder.

“Ah…” Zenna gently rubbed her hand up and down Erland’s back. So she hadn’t been the only one to have a nightmare of the Queen laying waste to everything and everyone she’d loved.

_Fire. Death. Carnage. Chaos. Destruction._

Zenna repressed a shudder. She could still hear her parents’ screams as the Red Death plucked them up from the burnt remains of their house and swallowed them whole in her dream; while she, her best friends lying dead at her feet, could only watch. The nightmare had reminded her too much of the ones she used to have after Elias’ death.

It took Edgar clearing his throat for Erland to spring away from his daughter, the young man’s face as red as a freshly-cooked lobster.

“Zenna…” said Edgar, tapping his booted foot on the ground, coughing when Henna lightly elbowed him in the ribs.

“He had a nightmare, Dad. I was just giving him comfort.” Zenna rolled her eyes at him, her mother doing the same. Honestly, with the exception of Hiccup, it seemed that all boys were potential suitors in her father’s eyes - suitors who wanted to take his precious little gemstone away from him.

Henna gave Erland a sympathetic look. “Poor dear. Perhaps we can have tea after this is over? I’ll even make some of my stew if you’d like,” she offered.

“That would be nice…” Erland mumbled as they headed to the arena, hoping that things really would work out.

Excusing herself, Zenna pulled Erland through the crowd until they reached the lower level where they saw Hiccup and Astrid.

Hiccup looked like he hadn’t slept well either, but his bright green eyes blazed with determination.

Like Zenna, Erland took one look at him then went over to the boy to give him a hug.

“Uh… Morning?” Hiccup mumbled, not expecting the sudden dose of brotherly affection. After last night, he hadn’t been sure if Erland would be okay with him hugging him again. Now it was as if the roles had been switched.

Astrid glanced at Zenna who mouthed, ‘ _He had a nightmare._ ’

“Sorry…” Erland let go of Hiccup, his face still red. “I just… needed to make sure you’re… you know, okay…” he muttered.

_‘Norns, why am I letting a nightmare fill me up with so much fear?! Pull yourself together, Loki! Hiccup and Zenna are here with you right now, and they are alive and well. Embla, Toothless, and Stryka are back in the Cove, safe and sound. And everything’s going to be just fine. Hiccup will train the Monstrous Nightmare, convince his father and all of Berk that Vikings and dragons can work together, and they’ll amass an army large enough to take down that awful Queen of the Dragons’ Nest. Everything will be okay…’_ Erland thought as he took a few deep breaths to compose himself.

Stoick’s booming voice brought Erland out of his calming exercise, and he, Astrid, Hiccup, and Zenna watched from behind the bars separating them from the interior of the arena as Stoick stood up and faced the rowdy crowd.

“Well, I can show my face in public again!” Stoick joked, the crowd roaring with laughter.

Erland smiled smugly. _‘Once you see what your son can do, Stoick, you’re going to wish you’d been a better father,’_ he thought as the chief continued his speech.

“If someone had told me that in just a few short weeks, Hiccup would go from being, well… _Hiccup,_ to placing first in Dragon Training… Well, I would’ve tied him to a mast and shipped him off for fear he’d gone mad!”

“Thanks, Dad… Really feeling the love…” Hiccup muttered as he bowed his head, his bangs obscuring his hurt-filled eyes.

Astrid could only squeeze his shoulder to provide a small measure of comfort, her blue eyes sad. Gods, she knew that Hiccup and Stoick had a rocky relationship but… she hadn’t known it was this bad.

“Don’t listen to him, Hicc…” Zenna whispered, her fingers gently threading through her best human friend’s russet locks. She spared a moment to send a spiteful glare at Stoick who didn’t see her.

Stoick, unaware of the anger Erland and Zenna felt towards him, and ignoring the disgusted looks Edgar and Henna were sending him, continued with a proud smile. “But here we are. And no one’s more surprised… or more proud than I am. Today, my boy becomes a Viking. TODAY, HE BECOMES ONE OF US!” he thundered, the crowd going into a frenzy.

“Be careful with that dragon,” Astrid said softly as she, Erland, and Zenna helped Hiccup get ready.

“It’s not the dragon I’m worried about.” Hiccup glanced at his father, sighing.

“What are you gonna do?” Astrid asked, looking at Erland and Zenna who avoided her gaze.

“Put an end to this. I have to try.” Turning to face her, Hiccup looked into Astrid’s eyes. “Astrid, if something goes wrong… just make sure they don’t find Toothless, Stryka, and Embla,” he told her firmly.

“I will.” Astrid felt the sudden urge to hug Hiccup but held herself back. “Just… promise me it won’t go wrong,” she pleaded.

Hiccup knew he couldn’t make such a promise and, instead, turned to Erland and Zenna. “Whatever happens, don’t let them find our dragons… and take care of yourselves,” he said softly.

Zenna embraced him, her violet eyes glossy with unshed tears. “Be careful… I don’t want to lose another brother…” she whispered fearfully. Hiccup could only give her a smile and gently kissed her forehead.

“You got this, Hiccup,” Erland said, handing the boy a shield.

The two of them made eye contact and Hiccup felt his confidence go up a bit at seeing the pride in Erland’s eyes. Compared to his father’s, Erland’s pride was rooted in the truth. He saw Hiccup for who he truly was, and he was genuinely proud of him – the _real_ him.

Gobber came up to open the doors to the arena. “It’s time, Hiccup. Knock him dead.” He grinned at his apprentice.

Looking at Astrid, Erland, and Zenna for what he hoped wouldn’t be the last time, Hiccup squared his shoulders, put on his helmet, and marched into the arena. The cheers of the crowd were deafening but he soldiered on.

“Show ‘em how it’s done, my man!” Tuffnut cheered from where he sat with the other teens in the bleachers.

Hiccup headed over to the weapons rack. Axes, swords, hammers, maces… really, you could find every dragon-killing device here.

_‘Just like with Toothless…’_ thought Hiccup as he picked up a slim dagger.

Facing the heavily-barred cage of the Monstrous Nightmare, Hiccup took a deep breath and let it out.

“I’m ready.”

No sooner had the cage opened, the Monstrous Nightmare came rushing out in a flaming, frenzied rage. It scuttled across the arena’s walls ceiling and shot out a fireball that cleared a path through the spectators on one side. As its flames died down, the dragon climbed up the arena’s metal webbed ceiling and glared at Hiccup, its catlike yellow eyes narrowed.

Hiccup kept his shield up as the Monstrous Nightmare climbed down from the ceiling and stood just steps away from him.

“Go on, Hiccup! Give it to him!” one Viking cheered.

_‘Here goes…’_ thought Hiccup as he dropped his dagger, then his shield, and slowly raised his hands up in a non-threatening gesture.

Everyone’s eyes threatened to pop out of their sockets. Hiccup had just thrown away everything he needed to fight the beast!

Stoick narrowed his eyes, unable to comprehend what his son just did. “What is he doing?” he muttered, Gobber also looking uneasy.

Back to outside the arena, Astrid, Erland, and Zenna watched, their hands gripping the bars of the gate tightly.

“It’s okay. It’s okay…” Hiccup murmured to the dragon as it crept towards him. Then, glancing up to where his father sat then looking at the Monstrous Nightmare right in the eye, he took off his helmet. “I’m not one of them,” he declared, tossing the helmet to the side.

The crowd gasped while the Monstrous Nightmare regarded Hiccup with something akin to curiosity. To the Vikings, it seemed that their chief’s heir had gone mad. But to the dragon, the scrawny boy in front of it looked like someone who could finally give it something it longed for – freedom.

Having seen enough, Stoick stood up. “Stop the fight,” he ordered only to be taken aback by his son’s defiant shout.

“No! I need you all to see this.” Hiccup glared at his father before calmly facing the Monstrous Nightmare again, his hand outstretched. “They’re not what we think they are. We don’t have to kill them.”

“Just a little more…” Zenna whispered to herself, hope blooming in her chest.

_‘As soon as he’s got that dragon calmed down, this will all be over,’_ thought Erland as he watched what he hoped to be a miracle.

But then, just as Hiccup’s palm was only an inch away from the dragon’s snout, Stoick lost his temper.

“I SAID STOP THE FIGHT!” the chief roared, slamming his hammer against the railings.

All hopes for a bloodless event were lost as the Nightmare’s dilated pupils narrowed into dangerous slits at the sound.

Hiccup yelped as the dragon reared back with a snarl and snapped at him. Quickly he turned and ran, screaming as a stream of fire followed in his wake.

* * *

Back at the Cove, Toothless and Stryka were dozing, resting after a night of glorious lovemaking.

Suddenly, Toothless’ ears pricked up and he bolted upright.

**_“Mm… Toothless, what is it?”_** yawned Stryka, opening one eye.

Wiggling his ears, Toothless caught more sounds coming from the direction of the village… and he recognized one sound.

**_“Hiccup…”_ **

* * *

“Out of my way!” Stoick growled, pushing past Vikings, determined to get to his son.

He wasn’t the only one.

“HICCUP!”

Astrid quickly wedged an ax under the door and used it as a lever to pry the gate open, and she, Erland, and Zenna slipped inside.

“Zenna!” Edgar and Henna shot to their feet and hastened to follow Stoick the instant they saw their daughter enter the arena.

* * *

Back at the cove, Stryka pushed Toothless’ bottom up as her mate clawed at cove’s walls before getting a firm grip. **_“Thank you, my love,”_** Toothless grunted as he successfully climbed out of the cove.

**_“Thank me later! We gotta go!”_** Stryka flew out of the cove just as Embla flew above them.

**_“Quickly! Our riders need us!”_** the Changewing roared, having heard Hiccup’s scream as well from her cave, before flying on ahead.

Toothless and Stryka glanced at each other, then decided on the same thing.

Death be damned, their hatchlings were in danger… and they were going to rescue them.

* * *

**_‘Calm down! Calm down! For Norns’ sake, CALM DOWN!’_** Erland mentally screamed as loud as he could at the out-of-control Monstrous Nightmare as it chased Hiccup around the arena. The poor boy scrambled to retrieve a shield from the weapons rack only for the dragon to wreck it, scattering shields and weapons everywhere.

“It’s not listening!” Erland growled, frustrated, as he tried and failed once again to bring the dragon to attention. Unsheathing his dagger, Erland charged at the dragon, Zenna right behind him with her battle sticks.

“Back! Back off!” Zenna yelled, leaping up and smacking the Monstrous Nightmare in the face with both sticks. The dragon snarled then yelped as Erland threw his dagger at the wall behind it, where the puny weapon lodged into the stone.

**_‘Now, let’s try this again… STAND. DOWN.’_** Erland glared with all the fury of the gods at the dragon.

“Hiccup!” Astrid yelled and, thinking fast, seized a hammer and lobbed it at the dragon just when Erland got its attention.

_‘So close!’_ Erland threw himself at Zenna, knocking the girl to the ground just as the Monstrous Nightmare’s wickedly sharp claws whizzed over their heads as it focused on Astrid.

Finally, Stoick reached one of the arena gates. Edgar and Henna joined him, their faces white with panic.

“Stoick, get them out of there!” Henna shrieked.

Edgar helped Stoick open the gate. “Over here!” he yelled at the same time Stoick shouted, “This way!”

Astrid, Erland, Hiccup, and Zenna ran towards the exit. While Astrid and Erland made it out, Hiccup and Zenna weren’t so lucky as the Monstrous Nightmare fired a blast at the door just when they were about to reach the safety of their parents.

At that moment, something in Erland snapped.

Ignoring the others’ shouts, he raced back into the arena and skidded to a halt in front of Hiccup and Zenna.

“You want them, you go through me!” Shielding Hiccup and Zenna, Erland stood defiant against the Monstrous Nightmare.

**_“GET OUT OF MY WAY, HUMAN!”_** the Monstrous Nightmare roared, its entire body tense as it glared at the puny Viking that dared oppose it, the haze of rage rendering it unable to recognize who the human really was.

“No.” Erland felt Hiccup and Zenna trembling behind him, their fear mixing with his own. He had no magic, no way to protect all three of them, but he hadn’t thought about all of this when he had run back to them.

The only thing Erland… _Loki…_ thought at that moment… was that he had to protect Hiccup and Zenna.

He had to protect them… no matter what.

So, when the Monstrous Nightmare opened its mouth and unleashed its deadly flame, Erland pushed Hiccup and Zenna as far behind him as he could, shutting his eyes as he raised his arms up in a vain attempt to stop the inevitable fiery death coming towards them.

Praying to the Norns, to Frigga, and even to Thor and Odin that Hiccup and Zenna would be spared, Erland grit his teeth and braced himself for the pain.

Nothing happened. He heard gasps, forcing him to open his eyes.

For a minute, Erland just stared at the shimmering gold shield in front of him.

Sparkling like stars and transparent enough that Erland could see the shell-shocked look on the Monstrous Nightmare’s face, the shield flickered then melted away like an illusion.

“He’s a _seidr_!” One Viking cried out, a ripple of murmurs from the crowd ensuing.

Gothi couldn’t help but smile. _‘He’s taken the first step,’_ she thought then gulped. _‘I just hope he survives this…’_ she thought worriedly as she watched her ward come to grips with what had just happened.

Looking at his hands, Erland felt suddenly giddy.

_He had his magic back._

Shaking its head, the Monstrous Nightmare fired again. But Erland quickly raised his hands, another golden shield materializing in front of him. He briefly thought about shapeshifting into a Monstrous Nightmare himself but was disappointed to not feel the familiar stirrings of the magic he needed to shapeshift.

It seemed that the Norns didn’t deem him worthy enough to have _all_ of his magic back.

But at least he could create shields. And, at the moment, it was just the magic he needed.

Keeping his arms raised, Erland focused on keeping the shield up as the dragon continued breathing fire. “Run!” he shouted to Hiccup and Zenna, his head starting to hurt the longer he kept the shield up.

But Hiccup and Zenna couldn’t move. They just stood their, wide-eyed as their friend used _magic_ to save their lives.

“Holy Shields…” Zenna breathed out.

“What…?” Hiccup barely got the word out of his mouth before two distinct loud whistles were heard.

The whistles of two Night Furies about to fire.

BOOM!

Toothless, Stryka, and Embla blasted their way into the arena and latched onto the Monstrous Nightmare like leeches, growling, hissing, and spitting madly.

Erland dropped his arms, clutching his head. He hadn’t expected using magic after so long to have such a dramatic toll on his body. The whole arena was spinning and his knees were shaking.

“Erland!” Hiccup and Zenna rushed over to the young man as he fell to his knees.

“I-I’m alright… I’m alright…” Erland breathed out, his face paler than usual, then looked up, jaw dropping upon seeing Embla tussling with the Monstrous Nightmare.

**_“How DARE you attack my rider?!”_** Embla shrieked, acid frothing out of her jaws, while Toothless and Stryka bit and scratched wherever they could reach.

**_“If I see a single scratch on Zenna’s head…! I am going to claw your eyes out!”_** shrieked Stryka, scratching fiercely at the Monstrous Nightmare’s neck as it pinned Toothless to the ground.

Up in the bleachers, Gobber could hardly believe his eyes. A Changewing… and… _“Night Furies!”_ he exclaimed, watching the brawl.

Backing off, the Monstrous Nightmare snarled at Toothless, Stryka, and Embla as the three dragons stood protectively in front of Hiccup, Zenna, and Erland. **_“Furies, Changewing, move aside! Let me at those humans!”_** the Nightmare snarled, its distinctly male voice, filled with rage, making Erland’s head throb.

**_“Try that and you die!”_** Embla hissed.

**_“No! You can’t hurt Hiccup!”_** Toothless growled.

**_“Stay away from Zenna!”_** Stryka snapped.

Then, as one, all three dragons roared.

**_“LEAVE OUR HATCHLINGS ALONE!”_ **

****

Finally taking the hint, the Monstrous Nightmare retreated into one corner of the arena.

And that’s when the Vikings came pouring in.

Quickly, Hiccup and Zenna tried to get Toothless and Stryka to flee.

“Alright, Toothless, go. Get out of here!” Hiccup gently pushed at his dragon in an attempt to get him to run.

“Thank you, Stryka. But, please, go! Fly away!” Zenna pleaded.

But Toothless and Stryka whined, refusing to budge. How could they abandon their riders, their hatchlings, when there were all these Vikings coming?

**_“What were you thinking?”_** Embla draped a wing over Erland, fussing over him. **_“No, scratch that. I bet you weren’t…”_** she growled softly.

“I know…” Erland panted, his brain too tired to relay his thoughts telepathically to Embla. Looking at the crowd of Vikings headed for them, he paled. Gently placing his hands on either side of his Changewing’s face, Erland pleaded with her. “Fly, Embla! _Disappear!_ ”

**_“Not without you!”_** Embla shook her head, firing an acid blob at some Vikings who were getting too close for comfort.

“Please, just GO! DISAPPEAR!” Erland shouted as he saw a Viking with a bola charging towards Embla.

Whimpering but obedient, Embla went full cloak and flew out of the arena, narrowly dodging a bola, and disappeared into the skies.

“I’ll come back and find you, Embla… I promise…” Erland whispered to the wind before Toothless and Stryka’s roars brought him back to the situation at hand.

“No, Dad, he won’t hurt you!”

“Mom, Dad, wait!”

Too late. Toothless and Stryka had already pounced and they had Stoick, Edgar, and Henna pinned underneath them.

“Toothless, stop!” Hiccup yelled.

“Don’t do it, Stryka!” Zenna screamed.

Toothless and Stryka opened their mouths, gas hissing as they prepared to ignite…

“No…”

“Toothless, Stryka, don’t!” Erland yelled, but his voice was lost in the shouting.

“NOOOO!”

Upon hearing their riders’ screams, Toothless and Stryka swallowed their gas down.

**_“Hiccup, what’s going on? Why did you stop us?”_** Toothless cooed, looking at his distressed best friend.

**_“Youngling, what’s wrong?”_** Stryka warbled, noticing the sheer terror in Zenna’s violet eyes.

“GET THEM!”

The minute the Night Furies paused mid-fire, the Berkians descended upon them. Toothless and Stryka roared in fright, struggling with all their might as the Vikings held them down. They had to get out! They had to get out of here and get their riders out of this place!

“No! Please, jus-just don’t hurt him! Please don’t hurt him!” Hiccup pleaded desperately as Astrid held him back.

“No! Stop! You’re hurting her!” Zenna tried to stop the Vikings holding Stryka down but Erland grabbed her and held onto her tightly.

“We can’t help them now… Not here…” Erland murmured, his heart aching at the look of utter betrayal Hiccup and Zenna gave him once he said that.

“You all right, love?” Edgar mumbled woozily as he got to his feet.

“Fine, dear, fine…” Henna breathed out as she and her husband stared at the Night Furies that had saved the children, fear and awe in their eyes.

Stoick, on the other hand, glared as he stood up. Looking at the beasts that had just attacked him, he issued out one command. “Put them with the others.”

The moment Toothless and Stryka were dragged away to their cages, it was Erland's turn. The boy noticed two men walking towards him and his fight or flight instincts kicked in. Letting go of a still distraught Zenna, Erland tried to run only to get tackled to the ground. He bit back a yelp as he was yanked to his feet and made to march off to who knows where.

"Wait, stop! Dad, what are you doing?!" Hiccup made a move to run towards Erland along with Zenna but was held back by his father.

"He's to be questioned then tried for witchcraft when we get back!" Stoick thundered. He’d seen what the boy had done. Conjuring shields was the work of a seidr. And he had to make sure that Erland wasn’t a threat to his people, despite the fact that he had just saved his son from being burnt alive. He wasn’t going to take any chances, not after today.

"Chief, he was protecting us!" Zenna protested, twisting out of Stoick's grip.

Erland looked over his shoulder and saw Hiccup and Zenna running towards him screaming, "Erland! Erland!" and his heart threatened to crack when he saw their parents grab them. Then his heart did crack at the next round of words.

"No! No! HE'S OUR BROTHER!"

"LET GO OF OUR BROTHER!"

_'Brother...'_

The word repeated itself in Erland's head like a mantra, not stopping until he was shoved into a cell.

Erland snapped out of his stupor when he heard the heavy clunk of the barred door closing behind him. He rushed to the door and rattled the bars. Useless. He was locked up tight.

Not willing to give up, Erland threw himself at his cell’s door and tried everything he could think of to get out. Only when he was panting, dripping with sweat, and completely exhausted did he slump onto the floor. Tears threatened to spill from his eyes but he held them back.

"Brother," Erland whispered to himself, a bittersweet smile gracing his lips. _"They called me their brother."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is pretty much the scene where Erland/Loki finally admits to himself that he really does care about Hiccup and Zenna. Hope y’all enjoyed it.


	19. Broken Deals and Shocking Truths

**Chapter 19: Broken Deals and Shocking Truths**

He had been so close. So. Close.

If only he’d reached out to the Monstrous Nightmare a little quicker, if only his Dad hadn’t slammed his hammer against the railings, if only he’d had a backup plan. If only, if only, if only…

As he was dragged towards the Great Hall, Hiccup could only think of all the possible things he could have done to prevent what had just happened. But it was too late. The damage had already been done.

Toothless and Stryka were now locked up in the arena. Embla was nowhere to be found. And Erland, who just about surprised him, Zenna, and everybody in Berk with… whatever stunt he had pulled in the arena a while ago, was behind bars on charges of witchcraft.

Things, Hiccup thought as his father shoved him into the Great Hall, could only get worse from here on out.

“I should have known. I should have seen the signs,” Stoick muttered, his face stormy.

“Dad…” Hiccup said timidly.

“We had a _deal_!” Stoick turned to his son, his eyes wild with murderous fury.

“I know we did! But that was before… Ugh, it’s all so messed up!” Hiccup pulled at his hair, his thoughts racing too fast for his mouth to keep up.

“So everything in the ring… A trick?! A lie?” Stoick accused, hiding his pain behind a mask of steel.

“I screwed up. I should have told you before now.” Hiccup stepped forward, ready to take all the blame. “Take this out on me, be mad at me, but please… just don’t hurt Toothless,” he pleaded.

Stoick could hardly believe his ears. “The dragon? That’s what you’re worried about? Not the people you almost killed?!” he roared.

“H-he was just protecting me! He’s not dangerous!” Hiccup protested.

But, deep down, Hiccup also felt guilty. So many people could have gotten seriously hurt. And Edgar and Henna, Zen’s parents… they nearly got blasted to pieces. Of course he was worried about the people. But Hiccup knew that it would only be a matter of time before it would be too late to warn the people of the Queen. The longer Toothless and Stryka were kept locked up, the less time Berk would have before the Queen sent more dragons from the Nest to raid the island again. He had to convince his father somehow to give the dragons a chance.

But Stoick was having none of it. “They’ve killed HUNDREDS OF US!” he yelled.

For the second time in that day, Hiccup dared to raise his voice against him.

“AND WE’VE KILLED _THOUSANDS_ OF _THEM!”_

If Stoick had been startled by his son’s outburst, he didn’t show it as Hiccup went on. “They defend themselves, that’s all! They raid us because they have to! If they don’t bring enough food back, they’ll be eaten themselves. There’s something else on their island, Dad… It’s a dragon like…”

Wait, what?

“ _Their island_?”

Hiccup went white as a sheet while his brain screeched at him, _‘WHY did you say that?!’_

“So you’ve been to the nest,” Stoick glowered at his son, his beard bristling.

“Did I say nest?” Hiccup asked meekly, hoping that playing dumb would throw his father off his scent.

“How did you find it?!” Stoick demanded.

“No… I-I didn’t! _Toothless and Stryka_ did. Only a dragon can find the island.” Hiccup wished to all the gods that they would just strike him down now as he answered. Looking up at his dad’s face, Hiccup knew what he was thinking and started begging.

“Oh, no, no, no. Dad, no! Dad! It’s not what you think! You don’t know what you’re up against! It’s like nothing you’ve ever seen!”

Stoick ignored him, already walking towards the Great Hall’s doors. Why hadn’t he thought of it before?! The dragons had a nest. It was only logical that they knew how to get to it. All he had to do was bring the accursed Night Furies onto one of the ships and they would act as their guides to the nest where they would finish all of the dragons off.

“Dad, please! I promise you that you can’t win this one! No!” Hiccup ran after Stoick, grabbing at his arm in a last-ditch attempt to stop him from going on a suicide mission. “Dad, no! FOR _ONCE_ IN YOUR LIFE, WOULD YOU _PLEASE_ JUST LISTEN TO ME?!” he shouted desperately only to get flung onto the cold stone floor.

Stoick’s imposing figure towered over Hiccup, making him feel small. “You’ve thrown your lot in with them. You’re not a Viking.” Looking into the face of the boy who reminded him so much, _too_ much, of his beloved Valka, Stoick Haddock delivered a final verbal blow.

“ _You’re not my son._ ”

Hiccup felt as if someone had punched a hole into his chest, squeezed his heart until it burst, then flung him into the iciest waters imaginable. What his father… no… what _Stoick_ just said… he didn’t know what to say or what to do anymore.

“READY THE SHIPS!” Stoick yelled as he went outside, leaving a crestfallen Hiccup lying on the floor.

But as his men bustled about to prepare for the hunt, Stoick’s steps faltered. His brain was telling him that he did the right thing, but his heart was telling him only one thing:

_Valka would be disgusted with you._

He’d just disowned his only son, his only child. He would never be able to face Valka in Valhalla when his time came.

But such were the burdens a chief had to bear to protect his own. And Hiccup had clearly already chosen a side, the dragons. He had to protect his people from him and his poisonous ideas.

If disowning him would stop all thoughts of showing mercy to the dragons to end the war, then so be it.

* * *

“I’m fine! I’m not hurt! I need to save Stryka!”

Zenna squirmed in her father’s arms, pleading again and again, but Edgar and Henna were having none of it. They trekked back to the house, their daughter screaming and fighting with everything she had. Once he was inside, Edgar put Zenna down who immediately tried to run for the door only for Henna to stand in her way.

“Zenna, explain yourself!” Henna yelled, startling Zenna into silence. She hadn’t heard her mother raise her voice in a long time. It scared her, seeing her mother so angry…

Looking down at her boots, Zenna tried to stop the tears from welling up.

“What did you call that Night Fury? Stryka?” Edgar stepped forward, his face stern. Realization dawned on his face. “Does that mean the dragon was _yours_?” he asked, placing a hand under his daughter’s chin so she would look him in the eye.

“We were wrong about the dragons.” Zenna turned her face in the direction of the arena, where Stryka was. Looking at her parents, Zenna took a deep breath and said, “Yes. Yes, Stryka is my dragon. No, she’s more than just a dragon to me. She’s my _friend_.” In the strongest tone she could muster.

Edgar could only stare at her, his face turning white.

“No.” Henna’s quiet voice made Zenna look at her. Shaking her head, Henna went over to her daughter. “Zenna, it’s impossible for a human and a dragon to be friends,” she said softly, cupping her daughter’s cheek in her hand.

“Did you not _see_ what happened in the arena?” Zenna backed away from her mother, inwardly flinching at the hurt in Henna’s eyes. “Mom, Dad, Stryka _saved_ me! She and Toothless and Embla! They were protecting me, Hiccup, and Erland! Isn’t that proof that Vikings and dragons can get along?!” she protested.

“Vikings and dragons don’t mix, love! It’s completely absurd!” Edgar said firmly.

“No, it’s not!” Zenna shouted back, defiant.

“Zenna, befriending a dragon is impossible! It’s unbelievable!” Henna took her husband’s side, her caramel brown eyes filled with pain and fury.

“Elias would have believed me!” Zenna blurted out.

“Well your brother believed the same thing, and now he’s gone!” Edgar exclaimed, then quickly covered his mouth.

Too late.

“What?” Zenna blinked at her parents in bewilderment.

“Dear…” Henna felt tears brimming at the corners of her eyes and hid her face in her hands.

Edgar sighed, gently wrapping an arm around his wife’s waist and pulling her close. He couldn’t bear to look at Zenna, who was getting more and more baffled.

“Dad, what did you mean by that?” Zenna cautiously stepped towards her parents. Her mind was racing. Memories of her parents coming back from a raid with nothing but Elias’ helmet and battle sticks flashed through her mind along with the vague echoes of her mother and father telling her that a dragon had killed her brother. That they’d seen a dragon burn her brother alive…

It was like someone had poured ice all over Zenna as she came to an ineffable conclusion.

“ _Did Eli die trying to befriend a dragon_?”

A pin drop could be heard in the silence that followed. For what seemed like an eternity, Zenna stared at her parents, waiting for an answer, her violet eyes wide.

Finally, Henna let out a small sob, and tearfully nodded.

Zenna hadn’t realized she’d collapsed onto the floor until her father lifted her up and set her down on a chair. She slumped forward, holding her head in her hands. After a solid minute, she looked up at her parents and croaked out, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“We didn’t want you to… What Elias did…” Edgar wrung his hands, blinking back tears. Finally, he found the right words. “We were afraid that you would try to do the same thing and suffer the same fate,” he murmured.

Zenna nodded slowly, understanding (albeit reluctantly) where her parents were coming from. _‘Well, too late, Mom and Dad. I’ve been following in my brother’s footsteps this whole time,’_ she thought before another memory flashed through her brain.

* * *

_Feast and song ruled the night as all of Berk celebrated Elias Fiersome’s successful final exam. Toasts were drunk in the name of Zenna’s older brother who, for some reason, had disappeared not long after the festivities began._

_Zenna looked around the plaza, politely waving at people coming up to ask her if they could forward their congratulations to her big brother until she spotted Elias walking in the direction of the arena. Like a ghost, she followed him until he stopped at the platform where Stoick had sat to watch him kill the dragon._

_For a moment, Zenna watched her brother take a seat at the foot of the chief’s chair and bury his face in his hands. Then she stepped out of the shadows and called out softly,_ “Eli?”

_Elias’ head snapped up and Zenna was stunned to see tears glistening in her brother’s eyes. Worried, she walked over to Elias and opened her arms, inviting him into a hug. Elias wrapped his arms around her, hugging his little sister tightly._

“Are you okay?” _asked Zenna, feeling Elias shaking as they hugged._

“I can’t get it out of my head…” _Elias whispered in such a haunted tone that it sent shivers down Zenna’s spine._ “The life draining out of its eyes… I can’t get it out of my head…”

_Zenna blinked, looking over her shoulder at the arena, the structure ominous in the moonlight, and put two and two together._ “Are you talking about the dragon?” _she asked softly._

_Elias sniffed and looked at her, looking like a child begging for forgiveness._ “Do you think that I’m a murderer, Zen?” _he asked quietly._

“No. Never,” _Zenna replied, shaking her head. Her brother was one of the nicest people in all the world and he would never murder anyone. Besides, Elias killed a_ dragon, _a monster that needed to be eliminated. And monsters were bad, so people who killed monsters were heroes…_

_Right?_

* * *

“Zenna?”

Henna’s worried voice brought Zenna out of the flashback. She looked at her parents, her eyes welling up with tears. “After his final exam… Eli asked me if I thought he was a murderer. Did he ever ask you two that?” she whispered.

“Elias told us that the guilt was eating him alive. Whenever there was a raid, we would see him hesitate before going outside. Every time he killed a dragon, his eyes would lose their spark,” said Edgar, hanging his head.

“He started getting ideas. He once asked us why we fought with the dragons. We didn’t know how to answer him. Then he told us that maybe it was possible for us to co-exist. We didn’t know what to say to that…” Henna trailed off, unable to say any more, and burst into tears.

Edgar helped her into another chair and stood behind, his hands on her shoulders. “We saw Elias freeing a Monstrous Nightmare on that night,” he began, making Zenna straighten up. “We thought our eyes were deceiving us when the dragon calmed down in front of him. Just as we saw Elias extend his hand out to it, someone came charging in to attack. The dragon became aggressive and…” Edgar sighed, tears finally sliding down his face.

Zenna shut her eyes and took a deep breath, slowly letting it out. She didn’t know what to do next. Cry? Scream? She just found out that her older brother, her hero, had died trying to befriend a dragon – the very thing _she_ had managed to do – and that her parents had kept the full truth from her for two years!

Finally, she opened her eyes and looked at her parents. “Elias died trying to do the impossible. If he were here… I think he would have wanted to keep trying. Well, Hiccup, Erland, and I managed to befriend dragons. We did the very thing he wanted to do. And, no matter what you two will say, I won’t stop believing in what Eli believed. I _know_ dragons and Vikings can become friends,” she said, her violet eyes blazing with determination.

Edgar and Henna stared at their daughter, tears running down their cheeks, before finally letting out soft laughs.

“As determined as your brother…” Edgar shook his head, looking a bit bemused.

“Alright, love, we believe you,” said Henna, stunning her daughter.

“Y-you do?” stuttered Zenna, blinking.

“We saw how Stryka defended you earlier. She had the ferocity of a mother wolf protecting her pups. If you say that dragons can be befriended, then that’s good enough for us,” Edgar said, smiling proudly.

Smiling widely, Zenna got up and hugged her parents tightly. “No more secrets between us, okay?” she asked hopefully.

Edgar and Henna nodded, kissing their daughter and ruffling her hair.

But, just as the family was enjoying this sweet family moment, the door was flung open. Spitelout and Stoick stood in the doorway, the former looking near apologetic and the latter looking furious.

“We’re going to the Nest,” Stoick announced.

“We’ll be using the Night Furies as our compass,” added Spitelout, horrifying the Fiersomes.

Zenna’s violet eyes widened as her ears picked up the sounds of Toothless and Stryka roaring. Throwing herself at Stoick’s feet, she begged, “Chief, no! It’s a suicide mission! The dragons have a Queen and she is a _monster_! She eats any dragon who doesn’t give her enough food! She’ll destroy us all!”

Stoick glared at her. “I want you gone by the time I come back, Fiersome,” he said gruffly.

“Absolutely _not_!” Edgar stood nearly nose-to-nose with Stoick, his icy blue eyes narrowed.

Henna’s face was as red as flames. Helping Zenna to her feet, she protectively stood in front of her daughter. “If you want our daughter off your island, Stoick, then you’ll have to banish us, too,” she said fiercely.

“Fine! The village will be better off without the likes of you!” Stoick snapped, finally igniting Zenna’s temper.

Seizing one of her battle sticks, Zenna threw it at Stoick and knocked his helmet clean off of his head! Ignoring her parents’ gasps, Zenna glared at the man in front of her with all the fires of hell. “You may be a competent chief, Stoick the Vast Haddock, but you are a _horrible_ father. Hiccup’s a better man than you will ever be!” she hissed then left.

_‘I have to find Hiccup… Have to find Hiccup…’_ thought Zenna as she raced around the village, ignoring the way people avoided her like the plague. She checked the blacksmith stall where Gobber was sharpening all of the villagers’ weapons, the market, the Haddock residence, and finally the Great Hall.

“Holy Shields…” Zenna breathed out once she saw a sobbing Hiccup on the floor. Quickly, she went over to her best human friend and took him into her arms. “Hicc, what did Stoick do? Did he hurt you?” she asked frantically, only to have Hiccup bury his face in her chest as he sobbed.

“He… _He disowned me_ …” Hiccup whimpered.

Zenna tightened her grip on Hiccup, the poor boy sniffling. She had never thought she could hate Stoick as much as she did right now.

“He-he promised me that he would always be there for me. Dad… what happened to ‘ _always?’_ ” cried Hiccup.

****

Unable to think of anything to help Hiccup feel better, Zenna just held him, the two friends feeling completely powerless to stop the inevitable calamity coming for all of Berk.


	20. A Promise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Get ready world. Berk's Original Dragon Riders are ready to take to the skies!

**Chapter 20: A Promise**

Edgar and Henna boarded the ship with heavy hearts, dragging their weapons onto the deck. Stoick hadn’t given them a choice, opting to take every able-bodied man and woman with him. Mildew, who wasn’t even going to join the war party, had protested taking the Fiersomes with them earlier, claiming that their daughter’s “curse” would give them bad luck. It took Gobber and Spitelout to keep Zenna’s parents from attacking the man.

In just an hour, the entire Berkian armada was ready to set sail, each longboat filled with Vikings and newly sharpened weapons. Gothi held two young children against her, her gray eyes wide with fear, as Toothless and Stryka were chained down to two carts and lifted onto Stoick’s ship.

“Set sail! We head for Helheim’s Gate,” bellowed Stoick as he looked up at the cliffs overlooking Berk’s harbor.

High up above, watching the prelude to chaos, were Hiccup and Zenna. While Hiccup gazed sadly down, Zenna was glaring, her stance defiant. But when she saw her parents board the ship with Stoick, her shoulders slumped forward. Her mother and father were going to die, and it was all her fault…

Looking away, Stoick fixed his burning gaze on Toothless and Stryka, both Night Furies snarling despite the leather straps keeping their mouths shut. “Lead us home, devils,” he said lowly as the ships launched out of the harbor.

* * *

Watching the ships disappear over the horizon, Hiccup and Zenna only had one thing on their minds.

What now?

“It’s a mess.”

Astrid joined them on the cliff, her brilliant blue eyes gazing out to sea. “You must feel horrible,” she said to Hiccup. “You’ve lost everything. Your father, your tribe,” she glanced at Zenna who raised an eyebrow at her. “your best dragon friend.”

“Thank you for summing that up,” Hiccup deadpanned, his green eyes dull.

Zenna mouthed, “Not helping.” Causing Astrid to shrug.

Eyes fixed to the distance, Hiccup felt his already shattered heart hurt again. Of all the mistakes he’s made, this was the biggest and the worst one. The screw-up to end all screw-ups. “Why couldn’t I have killed that dragon when I found him in the woods? It would have been better for everyone,” he muttered.

“Yep. The rest of us would have done it.” Astrid looked at him. “So why didn’t you?”

Hiccup blinked and faced her, confused for a fraction of a second.

“Why didn’t you?” Astrid repeated.

“I don’t know. I couldn’t,” said Hiccup lamely.

“That’s not an answer.” Astrid narrowed her eyes at him.

“ _Why_ is this so important to you all of a sudden?” Hiccup snapped, the fragile threads holding his temper in check beginning to snap.

“Because I want to remember what you say, _right now_.”

Hiccup, exasperated, let loose his temper, exclaiming, “Oh, for the love of…! I was a coward! I was weak! I _wouldn’t_ kill a dragon!”

“You said _‘wouldn’t’_ that time,” Astrid observed.

“Whatever! I wouldn’t!” Hiccup gave her a tired glare. “Three hundred years and I’m the first Viking who _wouldn’t_ kill a dragon!” he shouted, turning away from her.

“Hicc…” Zenna sighed, her violet eyes sad.

For a beat, no one said anything. Then Astrid stepped up. “First to ride one, though,” she pointed out.

All of a sudden, a flicker of light appeared in Hiccup’s eyes as the answer to Astrid’s question finally came to him.

“So…?”

Sighing, Hiccup thought about Toothless. “I wouldn’t kill him because he looked as frightened as _I_ was…” Turning around, he gave Astrid the answer. “I looked at him… and I saw myself,” he said quietly.

Zenna couldn’t help but chuckle. “Guess that’s one more thing you and Eli have in common…” she mumbled then blushed when Hiccup and Astrid looked at her.

“What do you mean, Zen?” asked Hiccup.

Sighing, Zenna told them what her parents had told her. Astrid and Hiccup could only listen, eyes wide, as the young Fiersome told them the whole story about Elias.

“All this time…” Astrid shook her head in disbelief. “I always thought that Elias was devoted to the cause. I-I didn’t… I didn’t know he hated what he’d become…” she murmured.

“That makes two of us. I had no clue that Eli thought of himself as a murderer…” Zenna looked down at her boots. “I just… I just wish he could have told me, so he wouldn’t have felt all alone…” she sighed.

Hiccup gently cupped Zenna’s cheek. “He wouldn’t want you to blame yourself, Zen. You know that,” he said softly.

“I know.” Zenna smiled a little. “You know, we finished what Eli started. We befriended dragons. We _trained_ dragons, Hicc. I’ll bet you anything that my brother’s up there in Valhalla, smiling proudly and bragging to all of the gods about us,” she remarked, eliciting a little laugh from her best human friend.

Hiccup looked to the horizon again, heart sinking as he thought about Toothless and Stryka. “They’re all alone out there…” he murmured.

“I bet they’re really frightened now. What are you going to do about it?” Astrid gave him and Zenna an expectant look.

“Eh, probably something stupid,” Hiccup replied.

“Good. But you’ve already done that.”

Taking one glance at the arena, Hiccup got an idea. “Then something crazy!” he said before running down to the village.

“ _That’s_ more like it,” said Astrid grinning as she and Zenna followed him.

Reaching the town square, the trio began to execute their plan. “Astrid, get Snotlout, Fishlegs, and the Twins,” Hiccup instructed before he and Zenna left.

They needed one more person in their ragtag army.

* * *

“I’m boooooooooorrrrrrreeeeeeeeddddd!”

Bucket sighed as he listened to Erland’s complaints for what felt like the 248th time. Stoick had given him the responsibility of watching over the accused _seidr_ and, while he wasn’t the sharpest sword in the armory, Bucket knew how to guard.

Erland leaned against the bars, a lazy smile on his face. The despair of being thrown into the slammer had worn off and, now, he was dedicating his time to pissing off his guard. “Bored, bored, bored, bored, boredity-edity bored, _bored_!” he said in a singsong tone.

“You’re not being let out if that’s what you’re saying,” Bucket said in a quavering voice, making sure to keep a safe distance. He’d already had to wear a bucket on his head to protect his fragile brain. He didn’t need some sorcerer messing with his mind, too.

“I wasn’t saying _‘let me out,’_ I was saying that I’m boooooooooorrrrrreeeeddddd!” Erland did a handstand, grinning cheekily at him.

Before Bucket could say another word, he was suddenly attacked from behind! The poor man flailed about while two hands held a cloth to his nose and mouth. A sweet yet slightly sour smell invaded his nostrils and, before Bucket could even think about clanging his hook hand against his bucket to sound the alarm, he fell over in a dead faint.

“Sorry, Bucket…” Zenna whispered, pocketing the rag she had soaked in a special knockout mixture Gothi had taught her to prepare when she was ten, already thinking of a way to make it up to the unconscious guard/fisherman/farmer.

Hiccup grabbed the key and walked over to Erland’s cell. “For a guy who’s just been thrown in jail, you seem pretty happy,” he told Erland, who smiled.

“I’ve been through worse.” Erland shrugged, standing back so Hiccup could unlock the door.

“Wait.” Zenna blocked the keyhole with her hand. “Before we let you out, Erland, would you mind explaining what the hell happened earlier? In the arena?” she demanded.

Erland felt a chill down his spine. This was it. The moment he’d been dreading. _‘As soon as they know who I am, I’m done for. Maybe it’s better if they just leave me here to rot…’_ he thought, his chest growing tight.

Having Hiccup and Zenna reject him in his nightmares was already bad enough. Rejecting him in real life… Loki wasn’t sure if he would be able to bear it.

“Zen, we don’t have enough time to listen to Erland’s entire backstory,” Hiccup sighed, running his free hand through his hair.

“Then we’ll have him give us a short answer.” Zenna looked into Erland’s eyes. “Who _are_ you, Erland?”

Looking at his only friends in the world, Erland heaved a sigh. “I-I’m…”

Damn it, why was it so hard to tell them the truth?!

“You saved us back there,” Hiccup interrupted him, his bright emerald eyes a stark contrast to Erland’s darkened jade. “With your magic… Are-are you really a _seidr_ , Erland?” he asked him.

“Yes.” Erland felt his heart lift a little bit. Maybe he couldn’t tell the full truth now, with so much at stake, but it was a start.

_‘But I will tell them,’_ Loki swore to himself. _‘When all of this is over, no more lies. They can hate me all they want… but I’m done lying to Hiccup and Zenna…’_

“Hiccup, Zenna, I swear to you that when all of this is over, after we’ve killed the Queen, I will tell you two _everything_. No more lies. No more secrets. I’ll tell you who I really am,” Erland said, his tone sincere.

Hiccup and Zenna looked at each other for half a minute, then looked back at Erland.

“You promise?” asked Zenna, earning a nod.

“Full and total honesty?” added Hiccup.

“Yes. I’ll tell you two everything. On my honor as…” Erland bit his lip.

As if they had read his mind, Hiccup and Zenna both leaned forward, expectant smiles on their faces. “As what?” they asked simultaneously.

“On my honor… _as a fellow weirdo_.” Erland cringed as if saying the words were actually causing him physical pain. “I’m going to have to get used to being called that, aren’t I?” he deadpanned.

The door to his cell swung open, and Hiccup and Zenna grinned at him.

“Weirdos for life?” Hiccup held his hand out.

“Weirdos for life!” Zenna placed her hand on top of Hiccup’s. Then the two of them looked at Erland, who sighed and did the same.

“Weirdos for life.”

* * *

Out at sea, the Berkian fleet braced themselves as they entered the fog blanketing Helheim’s Gate.

“Sound your positions. Stay within earshot,” Stoick ordered, walking up and down the deck to make sure that all ropes were secure.

“Here,” One Viking reported.

“One length to your stern,” another Viking answered.

“On your starboard flank.”

“Three widths to port.”

“Ahead, at your bow.”

“Haven’t a clue.”

**_‘Humans…’_** Toothless and Stryka both rolled their eyes. Edgar and Henna looked at each other, then at Stryka.

Earlier, they’d been forced to help some of the men bring Stryka out of her cage. That was where they’d gotten acquainted with the dragon that had saved their daughter, going so far as to protect Stryka when one of the men started to beat her. Now they approached Stryka and her mate, who growled.

**_“You can trust them, Toothless. They’re Zen’s parents,”_** Stryka told her beloved mate. Calming down, Toothless eyed Edgar and Henna warily. They slowly raised their hands up in surrender. They were unarmed. Henna surreptitiously reached out to gently scratch Stryka behind the ears, the dragoness giving a soft purr.

**_“They’re good people, my love…”_** Stryka said then whimpered when Stoick marched by.

**_“That Viking with the fierce red beard…”_** snarled Toothless.

**_“Hiccup’s sire, I know…”_** Stryka’s ears drooped. **_“Oh, Toothless, that’s why Hiccup and Zenna sounded so desperate in the ring earlier… We could have killed their families…”_ **she rumbled sadly.

Toothless let out a scoffing rumble. **_“He calls himself Hiccup’s father? Where was he during those times when Hiccup needed him?”_ **he asked venomously.

“What I would give to know what they’re saying…” Edgar mumbled, watching the two Night Furies engage in what appeared to be a conversation.

“Perhaps we’ll just have to ask Zenna and Hiccup to teach us how to speak dragonese,” Henna said softly in an attempt to lighten the mood.

Gobber, trying his best to ignore the two deadly dangerous Night Furies currently glaring daggers, maces, swords, and axes at the majority of the crew, hobbled over to Stoick.

“Listen... Stoick... I was overhearing some of the men just now and, well, some of them are wondering what it is we're up to here,” he began, looking over his shoulder for a split second only to nearly piss himself as Toothless growled at him. “Not me of course, I know you're always the man with the plan… but some, not me, are wondering if there is in fact a plan at all, what it might be?” he asked awkwardly.

“Find the nest and take it,” Stoick said flatly. Behind him, Edgar and Henna paled.

“Ah, of course. Send them running. The old Viking fallback. Nice and simple,” mumbled Gobber.

That’s when the Queen’s call reached Toothless and Stryka’s ears. Unable to resist, both Night Furies perked up and began to waggle their ears in response. Seeing this, Stoick knew they were getting close. “Step aside,” he ordered, pushing past Edgar and Henna to take charge in steering.

“Bear to port.” Following their chief’s lead, the other Vikings steered their longboats deeper into the mists.

If he hadn’t been so focused on what was ahead, Stoick would have noticed a most peculiar sight following them from above.

A sky blue saddle flying through the air hovered over the oblivious party of Berkians before turning around and flying back to Berk.

* * *

Hiccup looked at the heavy steel doors, willing his heart to calm down. _‘I can do it this time… This time, for sure… O,h gods, I’m starting to sound like Astrid…’_ he thought before hearing Fishlegs.

“If you’re planning on getting eaten, I’d definitely go with the Gronckle,” the chubby blond Ingerman said as Astrid led him and the rest of the teens into the arena.

“Is this really our army?” Erland gave Zenna a ‘you’ve got to be joking’ look.

“It’s more of a ragtag team, actually,” Zenna replied, leaning against a wall.

Meanwhile, the other teens were excited. When Astrid came and told them that Hiccup had this crazy idea, they set aside their disdain for Berk’s biggest outcast and signed up. After what they had witnessed today in the arena, their interest was peaked and they wanted to see if Hiccup could really train dragons.

“You were wise to seek help from the world’s most deadly weapon.” Tuffnut stepped forward, acting cool. He blushed when she saw Zenna and quickly said to Hiccup, “That’s me.” Before retreating.

Hiccup barely had time to process what the male Thorston said before Snotlout got all up in his face. “I _love_ this plan!” he announced, trying his best to be nice to his cousin for once.

“I didn’t…” Hiccup inwardly groaned as Ruffnut shoved Snotlout out of the way.

“You’re crazy!” Ruffnut grinned. “I like that…” she whispered flirtatiously.

Astrid pulled her away before Hiccup could feel any more uncomfortable. “So? What _is_ the plan?” she asked.

Smiling, Hiccup cleared his throat. “Okay… Um… I know what happened at the arena was…” he began.

“Crazy?” Snotlout asked.

“Unexpected?” Fishlegs piped up.

“A way to get yourself killed?” Ruffnut snickered.

“Totally awesome!” Tuffnut cheered.

“Would you all be so kind as to not interrupt him?” Erland raised his voice, nodding at Hiccup to continue.

“You busted the _seidr_ out of prison?!” Snotlout yelped, hiding behind Fishlegs.

“Guys, he’s cool. Erland’s not going to curse you or anything,” Hiccup sighed before looking at Erland, a bit nervous. “Will you?” he whispered.

“The only thing I can do right now, my friend, is creating shields.” Erland raised his hands, a golden shield appearing in front of him to everyone’s amazement. “However, I _do_ wish I could curse a certain snot-faced lout here,” he mused, pretending to look for Snotlout. “Might like to give him pig ears and a pug’s nose as punishment for being so cruel to you…”

Snotlout whimpered as Astrid dragged him out from behind a trembling Fishlegs. “Believe me, it’s the least he deserves,” Astrid glared at Snotlout, who looked ready to wet himself.

Erland chuckled and playfully nudged Hiccup. “I like her,” he said, making Hiccup blush.

“As I was saying, Erland’s on our side,” Hiccup began then looked at the other teens. “We’re running out of time. Our families are headed straight towards danger. There is a gigantic Queen dragon beyond Helheim’s Gate. She orders the dragons to raid us to bring her food. If they don’t bring back enough food, the dragons themselves become the Queen’s meal.”

“Dragon cannibalism!” Fishlegs gasped in horror.

“Which is why we have to kill it.” Hiccup walked over to the Monstrous Nightmare’s cage. “But to do that, we need to get to the Nest. And only dragons know how to get to the Nest,” he said before pulling on the lever.

Erland stood by Hiccup. Once the doors opened, he heard the Monstrous Nightmare’s voice.

**_“Have you come to kill me, Serpent Tongue?”_ **

****

**_‘No.’_** Erland shook his head. **_‘My friend needs your help. Would you please not attack him this time?’_** he requested as Hiccup went inside the cage.

Astrid, Fishlegs, and the Twins watched in awe as Hiccup emerged with the Monstrous Nightmare slowly following him as he guided it out of the cage. Erland breathed a sigh of relief as he stood beside Zenna. The dragon had listened to him.

Only Snotlout was afraid. Just as he picked up a knife, Astrid lightly smacked his shoulder. “Uh-uh,” she said sternly, Snotlout gulping as he dropped the knife.

Hiccup smiled softly at the docile Monstrous Nightmare and led it to the one person who could match the dragon in terms of stubbornness.

Snotlout.

“Wait! What are you?!” Snotlout felt the panic return full force as Hiccup gently grasped his hand.

“Relax. It’s okay…” said Hiccup soothingly, gently placing his cousin’s hand on the Nightmare’s snout.

**_“Hmmm…”_** the Monstrous Nightmare purred. **_“He reeks of stubbornness and stupidity… Very well, I’ll accept him,”_** he said.

“He likes you,” Erland chuckled, knowing that giving a full translation wouldn’t help matters.

Snotlout let out a laugh of disbelief and excitement. He was touching a dragon… and it hadn’t roasted him yet! His relief was short-lived as Hiccup moved away from him and the dragon. “Where are you going?!”

“You’re going to need something to help you hold on,” Hiccup grabbed a shield and some rope.

Unsure, the rest of the teens glanced at the Deadly Nadder, Hideous Zippleback, and Gronckle Erland and Zenna had let out.

“Welcome to _real_ Dragon Training,” said Zenna, grinning.

* * *

It only took a couple of hours (and several buckets of water) for Hiccup, Zenna, and Erland to teach the rest of the teens how to bond with their dragons.

Astrid had managed to calm the Deadly Nadder down into brushing down its tail spikes and was now gently scratching the dragon’s chin and telling it how beautiful it was.

Fishlegs had taken a liking to the Gronckle, who turned out to be just as lovable as he was, giggling when the dragon started rolling over when he asked if it would like a belly rub.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut immediately started bickering over which head of the Zippleback they would ride on, with both heads also bickering over which twin was going to be its rider. It took a sharp glare from Zenna to get both twins and Zippleback heads to stop fighting, and Hiccup assigned Ruffnut to the gas head and Tuffnut to the spark head.

Once all of the teens had bonded with their dragons, Hiccup gave them all ropes and shields to fashion into makeshift saddles. While this was going on, Erland went over to the quietest corner of the arena. Closing his eyes, he concentrated.

**_‘Where are you, Embla? Please… I need you…’_ **

****

Just when the rest of the gang had saddled up, Erland heard her.

**_‘I’m right here, silly.’_ **

****

“Oh, my Thor…” Fishlegs gasped as Embla suddenly appeared on top of the arena, her ruby red scales gleaming in the sun as she became fully visible.

Embla purred, climbing down to nuzzle Erland. **_‘How long have you been up there?’_** Erland asked her.

**_“Ever since you and your friends began training.”_** Embla’s yellow eyes narrowed and her leaf spines bristled. **_“The fleet’s well on its way to the Nest. We gotta fly,”_** she hissed.

“How did he _do_ that?” Tuffnut asked, jaw wide open, as he watched Erland climb onto Embla’s back with ease.

“He’s a _seidr_ who knows how to prank people _and_ can talk to dragons with his mind…” Ruffnut snapped her fingers. “He’s got to be a student of Loki!” she declared.

Hiccup and Zenna exchanged looks. With everything Erland’s been able to do, he could very well be a disciple of the God of Mischief…

“Alright, gang!” Hiccup climbed onto Astrid’s Deadly Nadder while Erland helped Zenna up onto Embla. “Let’s end this war once and for all!” he shouted, and the dragons took to the skies.


	21. All Hell Breaks Loose

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final battle is here, ladies and gents! Will Hiccup, Zenna, Erland, and their band of fledgling Dragon Riders be able to save Berk? Read on to find out!

**Chapter 21: All Hell Breaks Loose**

The fleet sailed on, zigzagging through rocks jutting out of the water. Some of the warriors shivered as they passed by the remains of a ship, the vessel clinging to the rocks by its ropes. A few of them had been on that ship. And seeing it again, rotting on the rocks, was bringing back bad memories.

“Ah, I was wondering where that went,” Gobber chuckled nervously.

Toothless and Stryka whined and growled, desperately trying to free themselves from their chains. The lure of the Queen was getting stronger. It was almost unbearable to hear Her dark voice echoing inside their brains.

**_“Yes… Come to me, Furies…”_ **

****

**_“Come, Destin. Come, Erika. Bring me a feast… and I might just forgive you for your impudence…”_ **

****

Stryka let out a high-pitched whine of distress, causing Stoick to slam his fist against the mast. “Shut it, devil!” he bellowed, earning an angry snarl from Toothless.

“Stryka’s no devil!” Henna drew herself up to her full height, which was just about a foot shorter than Stoick’s towering frame, and stepped in front of Toothless and Stryka in a protective stance. “Neither is Toothless! They’re scared, Stoick. This whole endeavor is nothing more than a suicide mission,” she warned the chief.

“She’s right.” Edgar stood by his wife. “Didn’t you hear what our daughter said earlier? The Queen of the nest is a _monster._ If we sail on, we’re as good as dead,” he said gravely.

“Your daughter is a traitor to the tribe.” Stoick scowled and turned his back to the couple. “As soon as we get back, I want you and Zenna and Hiccup to leave Berk and never come back,” he said gruffly.

**_“WHAT?!”_** Toothless and Stryka screeched, the straps wrapped around their muzzle keeping them from blowing out any fireballs.

“WHAT?!” The other warriors jumped when they heard Edgar and Henna yell. But they could hardly believe their own ears either.

Had Stoick truly disowned Hiccup?

“Stoick, this is an outrage! You want to banish _Hiccup_ as well?!” Edgar’s icy blue eyes were wide with shock and anger.

“He’s your _son_!” Henna cried out.

“I HAVE NO SON!” Stoick roared, stomping away to confer with the men. “Stay low and ready your weapons,” he instructed as the fog began to clear.

Edgar and Henna could only stand in front of Toothless and Stryka, their faces distraught. They had already accepted that they would have to leave Berk with their daughter. But what Stoick just said… they couldn’t believe it. They didn’t want to believe it. But, now, their parental instincts kicked in. Looking into each other’s eyes, Edgar and Henna nodded, making a silent vow.

They needed to survive this. Whatever was going to happen, they had to survive. Survive and return home, to Zenna and Hiccup.

Stoick ignored the stares and murmurs from his men as he steered the ship, keeping an eye on the way Toothless and Stryka’s ears were waggling. Only once did he glance at Gobber, and Stoick tried his hardest not to flinch. Gobber didn’t say anything but his eyes spoke volumes, conveying shock, anger, betrayal, and disgust at Stoick’s decision.

Before he could say anything in defense, Stoick felt the boat hit land and looked in at the rocky stretch of beach in front of him. Jumping off the boat and landing on rocky ground, he scouted the area.

Squinting through the fog, Stoick caught a glimpse of a dragon’s tail slithering away into a crack of a mountain above and grinned.

“We’re here.”

The Berkians wasted no time in readying their catapults and weapons. Large wooden stakes were carved and placed all around the perimeter. This was the war to end all wars, what seven generations of Berkians had fought and died for. Odin’s Valkyries were opening the gates to Valhalla, preparing its halls for the new arrivals. And each Viking on Stoick’s side was getting ready to face Death head-on.

“When we crack this mountain open, all hell is going to break loose.” Stoick drew a line through the large circle he had drawn in the sand.

“In my undies. Good thing I brought extras,” Gobber quipped. He was still mad at Stoick, but the current situation made him push that aside. It wouldn’t do either of them any good getting angry at one another once the battle began. He would have words with Stoick later. For now, he needed to focus.

Standing on the front lines, Stoick gazed at the mountain ahead of him. “No matter how this ends, it ends today,” he announced, raising his hand in signal.

This was it.

Stoick closed his fist, prompting the Vikings manning the catapults to fire.

Several rounds bashed against the rock face until, finally, they punched through the side of the mountain. At Stoick’s command, a flaming ball of straw was launched into its depths. The fire revealed the wriggling forms of thousands of dragons nestled within.

Roaring like the Viking he was, Stoick charged in. All of the dragons fled in terror, flying over the Berkians without attacking. For a moment, the warriors stared at the sight.

“Is that it?” Gobber asked in disbelief.

When no other dragon emerged from the tunnel, Spitelout yelled out in triumph, “We’ve done it!” and the rest of the Berkians cheered.

Edgar and Henna gripped their weapons more tightly, the hairs on the backs of their necks standing up, not believing the lull for a second.

“This isn’t over.” Stoick’s beard bristled as an earth-shattering roar came from within the mountain, hushing everybody up. “Form your ranks! Hold together!” he ordered.

Another roar came bellowing from inside the mountain, closer this time, blasting the Vikings with hot air. To their horror, the entire mountain split wide open… and out came the Queen.

The Red Death.

“Get clear!” Stoick roared, the Queen growling as she began attacking the ships. Vikings scrambled out of the behemoth’s path as it fully emerged from the mountain.

“Beard of Thor! What is that?!” Gobber gasped, watching the Red Death pick up a ship and crush it into two pieces like a toothpick.

Stoick’s eyes were popping as he looked at the Queen of the nest, and found that it was exactly as Hiccup and Zenna had described to him. “Odin, help us,” he murmured, realizing what a huge mistake he had just made.

“Get to the ships!” Someone yelled just as the Red Death opened her mouth.

“No! NO!” Stoick watched, horrified, as the beast breathed out a tremendous jet of flame. All of the ships in the blast zone were set ablaze, their crews abandoning ship and jumping overboard into the sea while bits of debris and weapons fell into the water as well.

Catapults were crushed by the Red Death’s massive foot and she roared, hungry for blood.

“Smart, that one,” Gobber gulped, standing beside Stoick.

“I was a fool,” Stoick muttered, shaking his head. He spied Spitelout herding the troops together. “Lead the men to the far side of the island,” he instructed.

“Right. Everybody to the far side of the island!” hollered Spitelout, and the army began to pick up the pace, following Spitelout down the beach. Edgar and Henna busied themselves with helping the wounded keep up.

“Gobber, go with the men,” Stoick said grimly.

“I think I’ll stay, just in case you’re thinking of doing something crazy,” the blacksmith countered.

“I can buy them a few minutes if I give that thing someone to hunt,” Stoick insisted, blinking when Gobber grabbed his hand.

“Then I can double that time,” Gobber grinned, gripping his best friend’s hand.

With nods, the two men faced the Red Death. “HERE!” Stoick yelled, attracting the beast’s attention.

“Oh, no, HERE!” Gobber hollered, waving his hammer hand in the air.

The Red Death looked down as she chomped on a ship and saw two puny humans charging towards her. Fools, she thought as she heard their worthless challenges.

“Come on! Fight me!” Gobber shouted, hobbling across the beach, giving a shell-shocked Viking that had fallen from one of the ships the Red Death had seized the time to run.

“No! ME!” Stoick bellowed.

Growling, the Red Death opened its maw, ready to roast the Chief of Berk but was startled out of it by a fireball.

Looking up, Stoick felt his jaw drop.

Flying above the Berkians were Hiccup, Zenna, Erland, Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs, and Ruffnut and Tuffnut… all eight of them on the backs of dragons.

Sitting on the Deadly Nadder with Astrid, Hiccup started barking out orders. “Ruff, Tuff, watch your backs!” he shouted as the Thorston Twins struggled to steady themselves on the Hideous Zippleback. “Move, Fishlegs!” he yelled, seeing the Gronckle carrying the husky Ingerman lagging behind.

**_“He’s acting like the Chief he was born to be!”_** Embla said, eliciting a chuckle from Erland.

“What did she say?” Zenna asked, sitting behind the trickster seidr.

“Hiccup’s acting like the Chief he was born to be!” Erland’s green eyes sparkled with pride. “He’s certainly giving out commands like one!” he remarked.

“LOOK AT US! WE’RE ON A DRAGON!” Tuffnut yelled, drunk on adrenaline and excitement. “WE’RE ON DRAGONS! ALL OF US!”

Snotlout gulped nervously as he spotted his father in the crowd. He wondered what he must have looked like right now – a Jorgenson, riding a Monstrous Nightmare!

Thinking about it, he realized that he must look pretty cool.

“Up! Let’s move it!” Hiccup led his team up higher, giving them a good view of the Red Death.

Down below, Gobber approached Stoick, who had all but frozen at the sight. “Every bit the boar-headed, stubborn Viking you ever were!” Gobber told him.

Stoick could only nod, speechless. _‘If only Valka can see him now…’_ he thought, his heart aching. He knew that, after this, if all went well, he had a lot of apologizing to do… and a whole lot more catching up to do with his son.

As for Edgar and Henna, they could only gawk at the sight of their daughter on the back of a dragon.

“Our dear girl, a Dragon Rider…” Henna whispered, smiling proudly.

Edgar chuckled, “It suits her.” Beaming with pride.

Looking down at the Queen as it picked up a ship off the beach with its massive jaws, the teens shivered. It was a big dragon. And even if they outnumbered it, five dragons to one, the Red Death’s sheer enormousness and firepower clearly outranked their dragons’.

“Fishlegs, break it down!” Hiccup ordered, eyes scanning the area frantically for Toothless and Stryka.

“Okay!” Swallowing nervously, Fishlegs proceeded to analyze the enemy. “Heavily armored skull and tail made for bashing and crushing! Steer clear of both! Small eyes, large nostrils! Relies on hearing and smell!” he reported.

“Let’s not forget the mind control!” Erland hollered, mentally steeling himself. ‘ _Ignore Her. If She tries to get inside your head, have Embla fly you out of range,’_ he reminded himself.

Hiccup took note of his friends’ observations. “Okay! ‘Lout, Legs, hang in its blind spot! Make some noise, keep it confused! Ruff, Tuff, find out if it has a shot limit! Make it mad!” he gave his team orders in rapid-fire succession.

While FIshlegs and Snotlout looked nervous, Ruffnut and Tuffnut were abuzz with excitement.

“That’s my specialty!” said Ruffnut, ready to cause some ruckus.

“Since when?! Everyone knows _I’m_ more irritating! See?!” Tuffnut retorted, hanging upside down on his Zippleback head and making a face.

“Guys, focus!” Zenna snapped, scanning the remaining ships on the water.

“Just do what I told you! I’ll be back as soon as I can!” Hiccup shouted at the others before guiding the Nadder down to the water, Embla following right behind.

“Don’t worry, we’ve got it covered!” Snotlout said confidently as he and the rest of the teens flew into battle.

“For all our sakes… I hope so…” Erland muttered, cringing when the Queen’s voice echoed in his skull.

**_“FOOLS! YOU’RE ALL WORTHLESS SPECKS! NOT EVEN ENOUGH TO FILL MY BELLY!”_ **

****

**_“Don’t listen to her, Loki. Don’t listen to her!”_** Embla roared as they flew over the fiery wreck of ships.

Taking a deep breath, Erland focused on the task at hand: finding Toothless and Stryka.

Meanwhile, the Twins were following Hiccup’s orders to the letter. Their Zippleback flying over the Red Death’s head as they shouted insults.

“Troll!” Tuffnut shouted.

“Butt-Elf!” Ruffnut taunted.

“Bride of Grendel!” Tuffnut felt pretty proud about that insult until he and his sister had to frantically swerve their dragon out of the Red Death’s path as she unleashed a deadly fireball.

Snotlout and Fishlegs had their dragons hover on either side of the Red Death’s head, banging their shields to disorient her. Irritated, the Red Death snarled and opened its many eyes on both sides of her massive head.

“Uh, this thing doesn’t have a blind spot!” Fishlegs squeaked.

“Just keep banging!” Snotlout yelled, beating his shield furiously with his hammer.

**_‘Come on, you two… Where the hell are you?!’_** Erland mentally screamed, hearing Zenna cough from the smoke. Embla and Astrid’s Deadly Nadder had been flying over the entire area of burning ships, and they still couldn’t find Toothless and Stryka.

Finally, Erland heard terrified shrieks coming from down below.

**_“Hiccup!”_ **

****

**_“Zenna!”_ **

****

“Night Furies at six o'clock!” Erland hollered, looking over his shoulder and spotting the chained dragons on one of the burning ships.

“There!” Hiccup pointed to the ship, the Nadder making a beeline for it.

“Let’s get them out of there!” Zenna cried as Embla tucked in her wings and dove down.

Embla growled as flames licked at her skin. “Embla can’t stay here for too long. Her skin’s not tough enough to withstand this heat,” Erland told her.

“Then just set me down over there!” Zenna pointed to a stable-looking part of the ship’s prow. Once Embla was close enough, Zenna leaped off of the Changewing’s back and landed on the prow then pushed herself up and off of it, landing on the burning deck on all fours the same time Hiccup jumped off of the Nadder.

“Go help the others!” Hiccup yelled to Astrid and Erland, the duo nodding as their dragons flew back to the battle.

Toothless and Stryka whimpered as the flames crept ever closer. They were trapped on this burning wreck and, now, their Riders were here, too! They’d put them in danger!

“Okay, hold on. Hold on,” Hiccup muttered, removing the muzzle keeping Toothless’ mouth shut, and seized a metal rod to try and pry the chains off.

“It’s okay, girl! I’m here. Don’t be scared!” Zenna mentally kicked herself for leaving her sticks back on Berk and seized a metal rod of her own, whacking at the huge padlock holding Stryka down.

Back at the base of the now crumbling mountain, things weren’t going so well for the other Dragon Riders.

“It’s working!” Snotlout shouted gleefully as his and Fishlegs’ efforts began to bear fruit. The Red Death was visibly annoyed by the racket they were making and it was missing shots.

“Yeah! It’s working!” Fishlegs cheered, hitting his shield more quickly.

What the two didn’t notice was that _their_ dragons were getting disoriented too!

“Abort!” Erland came flying in on Embla, quick to spot the lopsided flying of both the Gronckle and the Monstrous Nightmare. “Stop banging! Your dragons are getting disoriented too you fools!” he yelled, but was a second too late.

Snotlout’s Monstrous Nightmare plowed right into the side of the Red Death’s head, careening off course! Snotlout yelled, “Agghh!” as he landed smack dab on the behemoth’s head, hanging on a ridge of scales for dear life.

Fishlegs’ Gronckle began to lose altitude, buzzing in drunken circles as the dizziness took its toll. The husky Ingerman began to panic. “I’ve lost power on the Gronckle!” he spotted Snotlout awkwardly trying to balance on the Red Death’s face. “SNOTLOUT, DO SOMETHING!” yelled Fishlegs, tossing the Jorgenson his hammer before the Gronckle fell down to earth.

“I’m okay!” Fishlegs hollered as his dragon skidded onto the pebbly ground… before flipping over and crushing him under its bulbous tail.

“Less okay…!”

Recovering from the assault on her ears, the Queen started to stomp towards the spot where Fishlegs and his Gronckle were stuck at.

“Spray her, Embla!” Erland yelled, his Changewing happy to oblige as they flew in close and sprayed the Red Death with burning acid.

Snotlout wasn’t idle, climbing over to one of the beast’s smaller eyes. “I can’t miss! What’s wrong, buddy? Got something in your eye?” he taunted, smacking his hammer against the cloudy greyish-blue eye. The Queen roared and stumbled, missing Fishlegs and his Gronckle by inches.

Astrid flew by the Jorgenson, for once, impressed. “Yeah! You’re the Viking!” she praised Snotlout. He only had a brief moment to bask in the Hofferson’s attention, however, as he was suddenly thrown forward into nearly falling off the Red Death’s head!

Snotlout gulped, hanging onto a scaly growth jutting out of the Queen’s forehead, while Erland and Embla continued to circle Her.

**_“YOUR EFFORTS ARE FUTILE, LOKI SERPENT TONGUE! AS FOR YOU, CHANGEWING! YOU ARE A DISGRACE TO YOUR KIND, LETTING THIS PUNY GOD HAVE COMMAND OVER YOU! YOU NEED A PROPER RULER! A QUEEN!”_** the Red Death roared.

**_“I’d rather serve this “puny god” than serve you, tyrant!”_** Embla roared back, firing an acid ball at the Red Death’s eye, scalding the flesh.

Roaring in pain and in anger, the Red Death focused its remaining eyes on Erland who went pale. **_“THEN I’LL JUST HAVE TO MAKE_ HIM _SERVE_ ME _!”_**

****

Erland clutched his head as the Queen’s voice purred inside his brain.

**_“WHY FIGHT ALONGSIDE THESE PATHETIC HUMANS, SERPENT TONGUE?”_ **

****

**_“I CAN SHOW YOU THE WAY TO POWER…”_ **

****

**_“DOMINION OVER ALL DRAGONS AND HUMANS… A FITTING GIFT TO THE GOD OF LIES AND DECEPTION…”_ **

****

**_“JUST LET ME HAVE CONTROL FOR JUST ONE MOMENT… AND YOU WILL HAVE IT ALL…”_ **

****

It all sounded so tempting. An alliance with a deadly dragon, sending all the Vikings running, subjugating them all…

But something tugged at Loki’s heart, something that was more important to him than anything else the Red Death was offering him.

_‘I will tell them…’_

He’d promised Hiccup and Zenna that he would tell them the truth when all of this was over. No way was he going to break that promise. As for himself…

_‘I won’t let ANYONE control me ever again!’_

**_‘Not. Interested.’_** Erland looked the Queen right in the eye and gave her his most defiant smirk.

With a roar of anger, the Red Death opened her mouth and unleashed a jet of fire.

“ERLAND!” Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs, and the Twins screamed.

Throwing his hands up, Erland concentrated hard. His golden shield materialized in front of him and Embla, its area equivalent to that of a football field, and glowing as bright as the sun. Almost everyone had to shield their eyes from the fierce glow emanating from Erland’s shield.

When the Red Death finished breathing fire, she was stunned to see Embla still hovering in the air completely unharmed.

**_“Okay, that was awesome!”_** Embla chirped to Erland who let out a tired laugh and slumped onto her neck.

Giving one last smirk to the Red Death, Erland taunted, “You can’t control me anymore, slug!” before he and Embla flew up into the clouds and disappeared.

Fully enraged, the Red Death swung her tail, which, unfortunately, was also where Hiccup, Toothless, Zenna, and Stryka were.

“Hiccup, remind me to tell your father to _ban_ these things!” Zenna grunted, struggling to free Stryka from her chains, before the Red Death’s tail sent more debris crashing down and missed them by a hair. Sparks flew as the deck began to grow unstable.

One more stomp from the Red Death sent both of them and their dragons into the water. Unwilling to give up, Hiccup and Zenna swam over to Toothless and Stryka and continued to pull at the chains.

Both Night Furies frantically shook their heads. **_“Go! Swim for the surface! Leave us here! Save yourselves!”_** their eyes seemed to say, but Hiccup and Zenna refused to abandon their best dragon friends.

To Toothless and Stryka’s horror, their humans went limp, bubbles of precious air escaping from their mouths. The two Night Furies roared when, all of a sudden, three pairs of hands hauled Hiccup and Zenna up and out of the water.

Blinking to consciousness, Hiccup and Zenna coughed and sputtered as they were taken ashore. Shaking the water out of their eyes, they were stunned.

“Dad…?”

“Mom? Dad?”

Stoick, Edgar, and Henna quickly dove back into the water once they were sure their children were safe. Swimming down to Toothless and Stryka, they broke them out of their restraints. A brief moment passed between both parties, understanding and determination to protect the ones they loved filling Viking and dragon eyes, before Toothless and Stryka rocketed out of the water with their hatchlings’ parents in tow.

Shaking the water off of their bodies, Toothless and Stryka turned to Hiccup and Zenna.

**_“Well, Hiccup, what are you waiting for?”_** Toothless barked.

**_“Come on, Zen! Let’s kill this bitch!”_** Stryka warbled.

“You got it, bud,” Hiccup said, making his way over to Toothless.

Zenna could only look at her parents, who nodded grimly, and smiled. When she looked at Stoick, however, she frowned. “I’m giving you one chance,” she told him before heading over to Stryka.

Stoick felt his throat clog up with words he so badly wanted to say. Looking at Edgar and Henna, who had trusted him in the past, whose son they had lost because of his false promise, who now willingly let their daughter go into battle on the back of a Night Fury… the kind of parents he wished he and Valka – had she survived – could have been for Hiccup… he knew what he had to do.

“Hiccup!”

The touch of his father’s hand made Hiccup pause in his preparations. Looking down, he saw Stoick looking, _really_ looking at him.

“I…” Stoick willed his voice and his heart not to waver. “I’m sorry… for-for everything,” he said.

Hiccup’s face softened. “Yeah, me too…” he said softly, knowing that they were both at fault.

But, if they were lucky and if they survived this… they could both work on healing the wounds they’d dealt each other over the years and be a family again.

“You don’t have to go up there.” Stoick held onto his son’s hand, afraid to let go.

Hiccup smiled, his emerald eyes filled with determination. “We’re Vikings. It’s an occupational hazard,” he replied.

Stoick nodded slightly, clasping both hands around his son’s. “I’m proud... to call you my son,” he said earnestly.

Hiccup felt like his heart was going to burst. All those years of longing and he finally got what he had wanted for so long. It felt almost unreal… but it was real, and he didn’t even know what to say, apart from a simple, “Thanks, Dad.”

Zenna grinned, glad to see that things had finally worked out between the two Haddock men. She then saw her parents standing beside Stryka, looking equal parts proud and worried. “I’ll be back soon. I promise,” she said, hoping in her heart that she was speaking the truth.

Edgar gave his daughter a watery smile. “Your brother… He’d be every bit as proud as we are. Now, my precious little gemstone, you and Stryka give that she-beast hell,” he encouraged her.

“And come back to us, please, both of you,” Henna said, tears welling up in her eyes as her husband held her close.

Stryka let out an affirmative trill while Zenna nodded, looking at Hiccup.

“You ready, Zen?” asked Hiccup.

“Ready as I’ll ever be, Hicc!” yelled Zenna.

And with that, Toothless and Stryka lifted off!

Erland and Embla joined Astrid and her Nadder, the two of them spotting two familiar black specks rocketing up into the sky.

“They’re up!” Astrid alerted the other riders, Erland letting out a whoop of joy, and proceeded to delegate tasks. “Get Snotlout out of there!” she ordered the Twins, who immediately began to bicker.

“I’m on it!” they both hollered then began to butt heads.

“I’m on it first!” Tuffnut glared at Ruffnut.

“Hey! Let me drive!” Ruffnut bumped her Zippleback head against her brother’s.

“I’m ahead of you!”

“I’ll take your teeth out!”

“Oh, for the love of…” Sighing, Erland looked at the Zippleback. **_‘If you would be so kind as to follow Embla and I, we’ll get you in close enough for Snotlout to jump onto you,’_** he requested, the Zippleback following his lead.

Snotlout ran as fast as he could towards the Twins and their Zippleback then jumped, landing on the dragon’s back where the two necks joined.

“I can’t believe that worked!” Tuffnut grinned, thinking that he and Ruffnut came up with the idea.

But while those three were able to escape, Astrid and Erland weren’t lucky. The Red Death opened her massive mouth and began to suck in air. Like a vacuum, Embla and Astrid’s Nadder were beginning to get pulled in!

**_“Mayday! Mayday!”_** Embla shrieked in alarm.

Two shrill whistling screams pierced through the air, eliciting cries of, “Night Furies! Get down!”

Two plasma blasts struck the Red Death’s face, stopping her from sucking Astrid, Erland, and their dragons into her mouth. But the force of the blasts was so powerful that Astrid and Erland were knocked off of the saddles and sent into a freefall!

“Shitshitshitshit! Nononononooo!” Erland yelled as he tumbled through the air, Astrid screaming a few yards away from him, as they fell.

_‘I never even got to keep my promise to them…_ ’ he thought, regret welling up inside his heart, as he closed his eyes, resigned to his fate. If he was going to die, he’d rather not see the bottom…

Erland’s eyes snapped open when he felt a dragon’s paws suddenly grab his leg. Twisting his body around, relief filled his veins as he saw Embla flying away to safety.

“Did you get them?”

Looking to his right, Erland saw Astrid dangling in the safety of Toothless’ paws. Then he looked up and grinned as Stryka ducked her head down to check on him.

**_“Hi, Loki!”_** she gurgled, smiling toothlessly at him.

“They got ‘em!” Zenna gave Hiccup a thumbs up as Toothless and Stryka swooped down low, allowing Astrid and Erland to land safely on the ground, before flying off.

Looking behind them, Hiccup and Zenna saw Erland smiling at them. “Godspeed, guys…” he whispered.

“Go.” Astrid looked on hopefully, praying that the foursome would come back alive.

“That thing has wings! Okay, let’s see if it can use them!” Hiccup said, getting ready to engage Toothless.

“Let’s do this!” Zenna shouted and the four of them charged ahead into the fight!

**_“Take this, you!”_** Toothless roared, firing a plasma blast at the Queen’s back.

**_“See if you can still see after this, you overweight slug!”_** Stryka snarled, shooting at Her head.

**_“FURIES! GIVE THOSE HUMANS TO ME!”_** the Red Death roared.

**_“Never!”_** Both Night Furies screeched.

“You think that did it?!” Hiccup gripped the edges of the saddle as he heard the beating of ancient wings.

“Yep!” Zenna squeaked, looking over her shoulder.

Behind the little group was the Red Death. Her tattered wings lifted her gargantuan body off the ground and she started flying after them.

“Well, he can fly!” Hiccup quipped, prompting Zenna to point out, “Technically, if it’s a Queen, it’s a She!” as Toothless and Stryka streaked across the sky.

An extreme high-stakes version of cat-and-mouse ensued, with Toothless and Stryka weaving through sea stack mazes that the Red Death easily smashed through. They passed by the beach, where all of the Berkians were watching the battle.

Landing beside Erland, startling the Vikings, Embla shifted uneasily. **_“They’ve got this… right?”_** she asked Erland, who was pale and anxiously gripping his left bicep.

“They do. They’ve got this…” Erland murmured, petting her in hopes that they would both be able to calm down. _‘Norns, please… Let them triumph… Let them triumph and come back alive…’_ He looked up to the skies.

Back up in the clouds, Hiccup and Zenna knew that they could only keep evading the Queen for so long. With Toothless and Stryka only having a few shots left, they had to make each attack count.

“Hicc, I think now would be a good thing to make like Embla and camouflage ourselves!” Zenna yelled, eyes trained on the dark clouds.

Following his sister’s lead, Hiccup coaxed Toothless, “Okay, Toothless, time to disappear! Come on, bud!” and pushed down on the pedal to shift the tailfin’s position.

“Let’s level the playing field, Stryka! _Up!_ ” shouted Zenna, urging Stryka upwards.

The two Night Furies flew up into the clouds, the Red Death right behind them.

**_“GET BACK HERE!”_** the Red Death roared, opening her mouth.

“Here it comes!” Hiccup alerted his best friends, Toothless and Stryka expertly spinning out of the fire’s path.

**_“Be safe, my starlight…”_** Toothless whispered to Stryka as Hiccup and Zenna had them split up.

**_“You too, my love…”_** Stryka whispered back, the two of them flying in opposite dragons.

Hidden in the dark clouds, Toothless and Stryka had the element of surprise. Plasma blast after plasma blast they fired, scoring direct hits on the evil Queen and illuminating their battle in the skies for the Vikings down below to see.

“Come on, Hiccup… Come on, Zenna…” Astrid murmured, clenching her fists at the thought of her two friends all alone up there.

“They’ve got this. They’ve got this…” Erland chanted again and again, repeating the phrase like a prayer.

Enraged beyond all reason, the Red Death roared, **_“THAT’S IT! YOU AND YOUR PATHETIC HUMAN RIDERS DIE NOW!”_** spewing out fire in crazy swirls.

“Watch out!” Hiccup yelled as Toothless narrowly dodged the tail end of a fire stream, the tailfin catching fire.

“Now what?!” Zenna yelled, paling at the sight, knowing that Toothless and Hiccup only had a limited amount of time to stay up in the air.

“Okay, time’s up!” Hiccup gulped, an idea popping up in his mind. “Let’s see if this works.”

It only took a look from her brother not by blood but by bond for Zenna to figure out what the plan was. Steeling her courage, she and Stryka followed Hiccup and Toothless in flying straight towards the Queen.

“COME ON! IS THAT THE BEST YOU CAN DO?!” Hiccup yelled.

“TRY AND CATCH US, YOU OVERWEIGHT NEWT!” Zenna screamed in defiance.

**_“I’ve seen sea slugs prettier than you!”_** Toothless taunted.

**_“Eat this, bitch!”_** Stryka shrieked, firing a plasma blast at the Queen’s face.

Blinded by fury, the Red Death followed the two Night Furies in a rapid descent. Toothless yelped, feeling his flight falter as the tailfin disintegrated.

“Stay with me, buddy! We’re good! Just a little bit longer!” Hiccup reassured him as they continued to rocket down towards the ground.

Just as the ground became visible through the smoke, Hiccup and Zenna sent a quick prayer to the gods.

“Hold, Toothless…”

“Hold, Stryka…”

The Red Death opened her mouth, the gas inside hissing as she prepared to fire…

“ _NOW!_ ”

At Hiccup and Zenna’s command, Toothless and Stryka flipped so they were facing the Queen and fired their last shots into her mouth!

**_“WHAT?! NO! NOOOOO!”_** The Red Death roared as the gas inside of her ignited and began to eat her up alive, her wings smoldering as holes started to burn through them.

Pulling up hard, Toothless and Stryka flew upwards, determined to get Hiccup and Zenna out of the blast zone. The Queen fell to the ground like a meteor, exploding into a fiery inferno and sending a massive shockwave through the land. Vikings staggered back at the sheer force of the blast and hunkered down as waves of blistering heat filled the air.

Ducking under Embla’s port wing, Erland frantically scanned the sky that was now lit red, yellow, and orange, his heart thudding in his chest.

Up in the sky, Hiccup, Toothless, Zenna, and Stryka were far from safe. Desperately, they raced through the Red Death’s blazing corpse as fire chased them. Toothless’ tailfin broke off, and Hiccup only had a moment to scream, “No…NO!” before the Red Death’s clubbed tail made contact, knocking him off Toothless’ back.

“HICCUP!” Zenna screamed just as she and Stryka were hit by the tail next.

**_“HICCUP!”_ **

****

**_“ZEN!”_ **

****

The moment he heard Toothless and Stryka’s pained screams, Erland knew that his worst fears had been confirmed… and he, too, screamed.

“NOOOOO!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heads up. The next couple of chapters are going to be angsty.


	22. Most of Them

**Chapter 22: Most of Them**

The moment they saw the Queen go down in flames, the Berkians cheered along with the dragons. Finally, the war was over. Both races were finally free.

But then, all of a sudden, Erland screamed, “NOOOOO!” and tried to run towards the inferno only for Embla to stop him, the Changewing whimpering as if in pain. Seeing the despair in the young man’s face, Stoick had felt like someone had punched him in the gut and ripped his heart out of his chest.

It wasn’t just him. Edgar and Henna didn’t join the crowds in their cheering. “Zenna…” Edgar murmured, face white as a sheet.

“Where is she? I don’t see her and Stryka…” Henna’s caramel brown eyes frantically searched the skies. “Where is our daughter? Where’s my baby girl?!” she cried out.

As soon as the blaze died down, they went out in search of the two young Vikings and their Night Furies.

Ash fell from the sky like snow, making Stoick cough and sputter as he stumbled through the devastated landscape. “Hiccup! Hiccup!” he whirled around, looking everywhere for any signs of life. “Son!” he shouted, his heart in his throat.

Where was his son? Where was his boy?

The smoke thinned out, enabling Stoick to catch a glimpse of a downed dragon – Hiccup’s Night Fury.

“Hiccup…” Stoick muttered, lumbering over to the dragon’s still form. Coming to a stop, he could see that the Night Fury’s left tailfin – the one his son had made – was nothing more than a metal skeleton. The saddle was badly scorched… and was lacking a Rider.

Stoick’s knees buckled. “Oh, son…” he moaned, sinking to the ground, head bowed. “I did this…”

The rest of the Berkians caught up, faces solemn. Erland stumbled forward, eyes transfixed on the empty saddle before Embla gently nudged him back into the crowd as Astrid ran to the front. He couldn’t feel anything. He felt completely numb in spite of the sickening sensation of his blood rushing through his ears as the weight of the entire calamity struck home.

_‘They’re gone… They’re both gone…’_ repeated in Erland’s head like a broken record. He wasn’t aware of how he was shaking until Embla gently wrapped him in her wings.

The Changewing cooed, nuzzling her Rider as he clenched his teeth and shut his eyes, burying his face in her chest.

Toothless, on the other hand, moaned as he blinked his eyes open. Everything _hurt_. But as he focused his bleary gaze on Stoick, he perked up a little.

“Oh, son… I’m so… I’m so sorry…” whispered Stoick, a single tear rolling down his cheek.

Toothless seemed to smile as he opened his wings, revealing Stoick’s son safely clutched in his paws.

“Hiccup!”

Erland looked up, his eyes welling up with tears, and felt his heart lift a little. Rubbing his eyes to stop the tears from falling, he ran up to the front of the crowd. He held his breath as Stoick took Hiccup from Toothless and pressed his ear to the unconscious boy’s chest.

Stoick let out a shaky sigh and exclaimed, “Oh, he’s alive! You brought him back alive!” sending the crowd into a frenzy of cheers.

Astrid let out a watery laugh, her blue eyes glossy. Even Snotlout wiped away a tear while the Monstrous Nightmare he rode on pushed its face into the crowd, letting out a happy croon.

**_“Oh, thank the Norns…”_** Embla whispered, resting her head on top of Erland’s.

Stoick smiled gently at Toothless, who dropped his head onto the ground in exhaustion. To think that he would thank a dragon – the enemy – of all things. But as he held his son in his arms, Stoick found that he was completely fine with it.

“Thank you… for saving my son,” he murmured, Toothless giving him a weak gummy smile.

Then Gobber hobbled over. “Well, you know… _most_ of him,” he said, looking over his apprentice.

Erland and Embla decided to go a little bit closer. When they did, the duo recoiled in horror.

**_“Oh no…”_** Embla’s body went completely white.

Erland felt his stomach churn at the sight of Hiccup’s mangled left leg. The flesh was torn open just below the knee, a jagged piece of bone jutting out, and the fabric of Hiccup’s trousers had been burnt into the skin that was now oozing blood and pus.

Covering his mouth, Erland turned away from the sight just as Stoick started screaming for a medic. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Edgar and Henna leaving the crowd and running off into the wasteland.

_Zenna_.

Erland paled and scrambled onto Embla’s back. His little brother was alive, but still not out of the woods. Now he had to find his little sister and Stryka. They took to the air, diving to pick up Zenna’s parents who both screamed upon suddenly being airborne.

“We’ll search for them together,” Erland told them, gripping the edges of Embla’s saddle so tightly that his knuckles turned white. He had to be strong now, for both Hiccup and Zenna’s sake…

Ten minutes into their search, they heard the cries of a Night Fury. **_“I see them!”_** Embla said, landing in front of Stryka.

Stryka let out a sob of relief as Erland, Edgar, and Henna jumped off of Embla’s back. **_“Please, help! She’s hurt! Zen’s hurt really bad!”_** she wailed, blood pouring out of her mangled right eye.

Once again, Erland found himself fighting to keep his lunch down.

Zenna’s face was covered in blood on the right side, all of that pouring out of her right eye that resembled a bloody smashed up grape.

Henna collapsed to her knees, a strangled sob heaving out of her breast, and crawled towards Strkya. “Zenna…” she whimpered, taking her daughter into her arms and rocking back and forth. “Oh, my sweet girl… My baby… Mommy’s here… Mommy’s here, sweetie…” she hiccupped, tears rolling down her cheeks and dripping onto Zenna’s pale face.

“Stoick! Stoick, please help us!” Edgar yelled, waving his arms about desperately, blue eyes wild with fright. ‘ _Not again… Please, gods, not again! My wife and I can’t lose another child again!’_ He thought as he continued to call out for help.

Erland and Embla, on the other hand, tried to keep Stryka calm with little success. The injured dragoness continued to wail.

**_“My fault…”_** Stryka moaned, head swaying as she got dizzier. **_“I couldn’t doge the tail… She’s dying because of me…”_** she said mournfully.

**_‘She’s not dead yet, Stryka. Don’t you ever blame yourself for this,’_** Erland told her telepathically, shaking his head.

_‘It’s my fault… I should have been up there with them,’_ he thought, looking over his shoulder upon hearing heavy footfalls.

Stoick came running and gasped at the sight.

“We need to get her out of here. She’s not going to last long outside…” Edgar murmured, planting himself firmly by his wife’s side.

Some of the men are called over and quickly construct makeshift litters out of sailcloth and rope for both Zenna and Stryka. While Stoick, Edgar, and Henna attended to Zenna, Erland and Embla helped Stryka get into her larger litter for air transport.

“Easy does it, Stryka… There, that’s it… Good girl…” Erland murmured as the female Night Fury limped onto the litter and slumped down, weak and in mourning.

**_“The faster we get her to the others, the better,”_** said Embla as Erland got on her back. Gathering the litter’s two ends, she lifted Stryka off the ground and flew back to the fleet as fast as she could.

Once their two heroes and their dragons were with them, the Berkians got to work with repairing the remaining ships to transport them home and attending to Hiccup and Zenna.

Astrid led the teens in the repairs, their dragons helping them to carry wood and supplies to different parts of the camp. She passed by Erland, who was carrying buckets of water, and stopped. “Erland, maybe you should take a break…” she said, seeing how the young man was shaking and that the water in the buckets was sloshing out.

Shaking his head, Erland walked away. He didn’t register how his entire body was wracked with chills or that his vision was constantly blurring in and out of focus. He felt like shit but he didn’t care. ‘ _Block it out. Block it all out,’_ his frazzled mind told him.

As long as he kept himself busy, he didn’t have to think of the possibility of losing Hiccup and Zenna.

Carrying the buckets over to the makeshift tent built to house the severely wounded, Erland saw Stoick crouched down beside Hiccup.

“Erland.” Stoick saw the dark-haired boy and approached him. “I… I know that…” he began before Erland cut him off.

“I don’t need an apology right now, Stoick.” Erland avoided the chief’s gaze. “I just need to know if he and Zenna are going to be all right,” he said.

Biting his lip, Stoick sighed heavily. “The medic should be done with treating Zenna. As for Hiccup,” the Chief’s voice became strained. “we need to amputate his foot otherwise the infection will do him in, and…” he trailed off.

Erland glanced at Hiccup who was covered in blankets to fight off the chill everywhere except for his left leg, which was wrapped in blood-soaked bandages, and felt sick. He’d seen people receive amputations before, as Loki, but they had all been adults – soldiers who had been wounded in battle. Not children who had risked their lives to save their entire foolish tribe.

“You want me to help you hold him down when they do the amputation,” he guessed, glaring at Stoick.

Stoick opened his mouth then closed it, unable to say anything, before nodding grimly.

Sighing deeply, Erland set down his buckets. “Let’s get this over with then,” he said.

Gobber grimaced as he plunged his sharpest ax into the burning coals, waiting for the metal to heat until it was glowing red. He then plunged the axe into a bucket of cold water, steam hissing out.

The medic, a stocky red-headed Viking with cleaner clothes, tied a strip of cloth around Hiccup’s midsection, strapping him down to a wooden board that would serve as the operating table. Stoick stood over Hiccup, resting his clammy hands against his boy’s frail shoulders, while Erland stood at Hiccup’s side near his legs.

Just watching Hiccup’s bloody left leg get unwrapped was enough to make Erland regret agreeing to help in the operation.

“Hold him down now,” the medic instructed the two as Gobber approached with the ax, which he cleaned with some brandy.

Stoick pressed his lips to the crown of Hiccup’s head, murmuring, “Forgive me, son…”

Erland leaned on Hiccup’s legs, face pale, as Gobber approached with his ax.

“I’m sorry, lad…” Gobber muttered as he lifted the ax up… and brought it down.

Erland felt like he wanted to cut off his ears as Hiccup screamed, back arching off the board. He had to lean his entire weight onto Hiccup’s legs while saying, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” over and over again.

The medic quickly cauterized the cut and started cleaning off the blood, also holding down Hiccup as the poor boy screamed in pain.

Half-conscious, Hiccup squirmed and struggled. “Hurtsss… T-Tooth…less… Zen… Dad, I wanna go home… Wanna go home…” he slurred, slightly opening his eyes and finding Erland. “B-brother… Big brother… W-want my big brother…” he whimpered.

Erland felt tears pricking at the corner of his eyes as he clutched Hiccup’s hand. “It’s okay, Hiccup. I’m here… _Your big brother is here_ …” he whispered.

Hiccup managed to give him a weak smile before passing out.

Erland couldn’t take it anymore. As soon as he saw Hiccup’s left foot get tossed into the coals to burn, he rushed away from the operating area. Stopping at the seashore, he dropped to his hands and knees and started throwing up. His breakfast, lunch, whatever toxins he’d inhaled during the fight with the Red Death all came out as he retched, streams of puke and bile gushing out of his mouth.

After that, he stayed there, a whimpering mess, until he felt someone pulling him up to his feet.

“Come on, now, lad. Let’s get you somewhere warm and dry…” Edgar wrapped a strong arm around Erland and led the boy onto a boat. Embla was already there, her golden-yellow eyes looking over Erland worriedly.

“No…” Erland muttered as he felt Embla press her face closer to his. “Embla, don’t…” he looked away as the Changewing’s hypnotic gaze pinned him down.

**_“You’ve done everything you can, Loki. Now, sleep,”_** Embla purred softly.

“I… have to… watch over… Hiccup and Zenna…” Erland’s body swayed as Embla’s hypnosis started to kick in.

**_“Shhh… Sleep…”_ **

****

Unable to fight Embla’s hypnotic gaze and his own fatigue, Erland closed his eyes and fell into a heavy, restless sleep.


	23. Even Gods Can Change

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Erland experiences a moment of much-needed catharsis.

**Chapter 23: Even Gods Can Change**

“BERK’S ON THE HORIZON!”

“STAY ON COURSE! OPEN THOSE SAILS, THERE’S A STRONG WIND THAT WE NEED!”

Those shouts brought Erland out of his slumber. Mind fuzzy, he realized that he was lying on a pile of sacks and covered with a blanket. The air wasn’t so chilly so he slowly raised himself up into a sitting position. Leaning on his elbows, Erland looked around him.

The ship’s sails were fully opened, catching a strong and steady breeze. He could see Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs, and the Twins on their dragons flying alongside the ship he was on. The dragons were hauling makeshift rafts carrying more people, who looked wary at being helped by them.

Finally, looking ahead, Erland could see the Berk on the horizon, getting closer and closer.

_‘I never thought I’d be so glad to see that wet heap of rock…’_ he thought before feeling a familiar scaly presence near him.

**_‘Okay, I know you’re angry with me for the whole hypnotizing thing. You needed to rest but you kept refusing. I had no choice,’_** Embla looked at him, guilty, and wrapped her tail around him.

**_‘I’ll let it slide. But just this once,’_** Erland rolled his eyes at her before coughing. Norns, he felt like complete and utter _shit._

“Ah, good to see you awake, Erland.”

Edgar smiled as he handed the young man a cup of water and a piece of bread. “Come on, lad. We can’t have you ending up in bad shape, too,” he coaxed Erland, who slowly sipped his water and nibbled at his bread.

Seeing Zenna’s father made Erland suddenly remember everything and he scrambled to his feet. He then noticed Toothless and Stryka lying just a few feet away from him. “Toothless! Stryka!” he croaked out, stumbling over to the two Night Furies.

**_“Loki. Thank goodness…”_** Toothless sighed, his green eyes sad. His saddle and tailfin were gone, replaced with bandages.

Stryka weakly raised her head, revealing the bloody wad of gauze wrapped around her right eye.

Erland cringed, gently reaching out to pet her. “Oh, Stryka…” he whispered, the guilt piling on more heavily.

**_“You’re safe…”_** whimpered Stryka, licking the young man’s cheek, before turning to a blanket-wrapped Zenna lying in the space formed by her curled-up body.

Erland took one look at Zenna’s pale face and the bloody wad of cotton covering the still-bleeding pit of where her right eye used to be, and felt lightheaded. Looking at Hiccup didn’t make him feel better as the boy’s recently-amputated stump was poking out of the blankets covering him.

Toothless whined, bowing his head. **_“I couldn’t save all of him,”_** he rumbled, his eyes dull as he looked at Hiccup’s bloody stump.

Erland’s eyes widened at the implication but he reached out and stroked Toothless’ scaly head. “You did everything you could, Toothless…” he murmured. He then settled himself between the two Night Furies with Embla curled up around him. While he chatted with the three dragons, switching from verbal speech to telepathy from time to time, Erland didn’t notice Stoick, Gobber, Edgar, and Henna watching him.

“First, he creates magic shields. Now, he’s talking to the reptiles like they can understand him…” Edgar murmured.

“Maybe he _is_ a _seidr_ ,” Henna whispered, cocking her head.

“Well if conjuring shields and talking to dragons is magic, he can’t be too dangerous, eh, Stoick?” Gobber lightly elbowed the chief. “Probably shouldn’t have locked him up, huh?” he asked rhetorically.

Stoick didn’t say anything but kept his eyes trained on Erland. From the moment Hiccup and Zenna brought the young man to Gothi’s, Erland had proven to be an enigma. Frankly, he had a hard time believing that the boy had come from a land far beyond the reaches of the Barbaric Archipelago. He clearly looked like a Viking and knew of their culture.

Then there was the fact that he could use magic.

There was no doubt in Stoick’s mind that Erland was hiding something crucial pertaining to his identity. He would have to take the young man aside one day and interrogate him.

_‘But that day won’t be coming any time soon. He hates me,’_ Stoick looked at Erland and stiffened when he suddenly looked in the direction of the adults. Erland remained silent, but he shot Stoick a venomous glare before going back to watching over Hiccup and Zenna.

* * *

When the ships finally docked, there was a huge crowd waiting. The sight of the dragons, however, sent the Berkians scrambling for weapons.

“At ease!” Stoick boomed, stomping to the front of the crowd. “The dragons mean us no harm!” he thundered.

“No harm?!” Mildew squawked, tottering over to the chief with Fungus tucked under his arm. “They’ve tormented us for over seven generations. And now you’ve brought the beasts straight to us!”

Stoick glowered at him. “I will hold an assembly in the Great Hall later. But, for now, everyone leaves the dragons alone,” he announced before he and Gobber carried Hiccup to the Haddock house. Edgar and Henna took Zenna and hurried her to their house.

While the adults made sure to give Toothless and Stryka a wide berth, curious children darted out of line to lightly pat the two dragons on their sides before running back, shouting, “I touched a Night Fury!”

Gothi tottered over to Erland, who was huddled close to a nervous Embla and offered him her staff to lean on. Letting out a shaky breath, Erland gratefully leaned on the elder’s staff and allowed Gothi to lead him back to the cliff.

Embla purred, tilting her head up at the high cliff where Gothi’s hut sat. She turned to Gothi and Erland, settling down on the ground. **_“Need a lift?”_** she asked.

“She’s offering us a ride,” said Erland, earning an inquisitive look from Gothi who eyed the saddle with childlike curiosity.

Helping Gothi onto his dragon’s back, Erland patted Embla’s side. “Slowly, girl. We’ve got a senior citizen traveling with us,” he reminded the Changewing, who let out a soft affirmative growl and flapped her wings.

Gothi let out a soft chuckle as she was lifted off the ground. “Who’d have thought I’d get to fly at this age?” she asked Erland.

Erland gave her a tight smile as Embla landed on Gothi’s hut’s front porch.

**_“While I’d love to stay,”_** Embla wobbled as she struggled to maintain her footing. **_“this place is far too tiny for a creature of my stature. I’ll head back to my cave. If you need me, just head to the forest and call for me,”_** she said before taking to the air once again, going full cloak as she circled over the town plaza.

“Nice dragon.” Gothi smiled to herself before looking at Erland, her smile vanishing upon noticing the faraway look in the young man’s eyes.

Sighing, Gothi opened the hut’s door and waved Erland in. “Head straight to bed, boy. Sleep for as long as you need. There will be tea and soup when you come down,” she told him.

For once, Loki didn’t argue or make any witty replies. Instead, he trudged up to his loft, shed his boots and socks, and crawled under the covers and just lay there on his back, eyes staring up at the ceiling.

He should have been up there with Hiccup and Zenna. He should have gotten back on the saddle right after Stryka had rescued him and flown Embla up so they could have helped them fight the Queen.

_‘But I didn’t…’_ Erland thought, chest tightening as his eyes began to well up with tears.

He hadn’t gone with Hiccup and Zenna, and now they, along with Toothless and Stryka, were suffering.

* * *

Erland wouldn’t emerge from his room until late afternoon. He and Gothi sat in silence, eating soup and sipping tea in the kitchen. Suddenly, Astrid burst into the hut, declaring, “Stoick’s called for an assembly in the Great Hall!”

Gothi scowled at the Hofferson girl, peeved at her intrusion, but took up her staff and headed to the door.

“Erland, are you coming?” Astrid asked, blue eyes peering worriedly into Erland’s face.

Erland pinched the bridge of his nose. He still felt awful, but he knew that he needed to be at this assembly. Somebody had to speak on Hiccup and Zenna’s behalf.

“If I get angry, do not try and stop me,” he cautioned Astrid and headed out, the Hofferson girl following him outside with a bewildered look on her face.

Upon arriving at the entrance to the Great Hall, Gothi and Erland saw that the dragons were outside with the rest of the teens.

Fishlegs was petting the Gronckle, whispering reassurances to it. When he saw Erland, he perked up a little. “Oh, h-hey, Erland!” he said, plastering a smile on his face.

**_“Hello, Serpent Tongue,”_** the Gronckle cooed, wagging her tail.

Erland cracked a smile and waved hello to the duo before looking at Astrid’s Deadly Nadder, the dragon approaching him and Astrid. The Nadder bowed to him, whispering, **_“Well met, Loki.”_**

****

**_‘Well met,’_** Erland replied, scratching the Nadder behind the ears.

“I don’t see why we have to attend this meeting,” Snotlout huffed, leaning against his Monstrous Nightmare’s neck. “The war’s won. We don’t have to worry about the dragons anymore.”

“The people are still terrified of the dragons, Snotlout. _We_ have to put their fears to rest,” Erland pointed out before noticing the disgruntled look on the Monstrous Nightmare’s face. “And stop using your dragon as a post. He doesn’t like that,” he added, the Jorgenson glancing at the Nightmare and quickly standing upright when said Nightmare growled at him.

Tuffnut hummed, his hands steepled. “So we’ll have to do a public demonstration? Is that it?” he asked, earning surprised looks from Gothi and the rest of the teens.

“That’s… actually why we’re here,” Astrid admitted, trading stunned looks with Erland and Fishlegs.

Ruffnut raised her hands up, sighing dramatically. “We barely know how to rein these dragons in. And Mildew’s gonna be riling up the crowd before we even have a chance to do anything!” she complained.

“Let him try,” Erland muttered, his face dark, before walking into the Great Hall.

* * *

The Berkians were silent out of respect for their chief as he explained all that had happened during the battle at the Dragons’ Nest. Then, he instructed the teens to step forward with their dragons.

“My son and Zenna have finally ended our war. They befriended two Night Furies and found a way to work together with the unholy offspring of Lightning and Death themselves. I may not be the most comfortable with change. But after everything that has happened recently, I am willing to give the dragons a chance.” Stoick gestured to Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut and Tuffnut, and their dragons. “If these young ones can forge a bond with dragons and work together with them, then maybe the rest of us can as well. From now on, there will be no more fighting against the dragons,” he announced.

The crowd started murmuring. Standing to the side, near the teens and their dragons, Erland and Gothi watched the entire ordeal and nodded in approval at Stoick’s decision.

Then a certain coot protested.

“Have you gone mad, Stoick?!” Mildew spluttered, stomping over to the chief. “Your own wife was taken by these mindless beasts! Everyone here’s lost family to the dragons!” he shouted, the crowd murmuring in agreement.

“Hiccup’s mom was…?” Erland whispered, eyes wide, looking at Gothi. The elder gave him a pained look and sadly nodded.

“I won’t stand for this!” Mildew thumped his staff on the floor. “These dragons will never change and they’ll go back to raiding our farms and destroying our village the minute we let our guard down.”

Edgar and Henna stepped forward, faces set in determination.

“My daughter nearly gave her life alongside Hiccup to save us all with the help of their dragons. Toothless and Stryka themselves were willing to die for them. You call dragons “mindless beasts,” Mildew? Henna and I have seen dragons for who they really are. They’re not monsters. They’re allies, friends… _family_ ,” Edgar said, the crowd gasping at his declaration.

“Your own son was murdered by one of them!” Mildew waved his staff angrily at the dragons, who snarled at the old man.

“Only because someone had attacked the dragon my son was trying to tame!” Henna cried out. At the crowd’s stunned reaction, she went on. “Yes. Elias, my darling boy, died trying to befriend a dragon. At the time, my husband and I never thought it possible. Seeing Zenna with Stryka… we realized that our son was on to something. To go back to fighting the dragons would be to forsake my son’s memory and be a thankless thing to do to Zenna and Hiccup.”

Mildew let out a disbelieving laugh. “You’re basing your thoughts on the deeds of two outcasts?!” he asked.

“My son and Zenna are no longer banished,” Stoick reminded the old man.

“A foolish decision if there ever was one. They’re mad, Stoick. Humans and dragons can _never_ get along! That boy and that girl have obviously had their minds poisoned by the dragons. _They and their Night Furies deserve to die!_ ” Mildew screeched.

Erland did not hesitate to charge full force at Mildew, knocking the old man to the ground and holding a knife to his throat. “Hiccup, Zenna, Toothless, and Stryka saved your whole goddamn tribe, you senile old fool. You should be grateful,” he hissed, ignoring the shouts of alarm coming from the crowd.

“Erland, stop!” Stoick pulled the enraged lad off of Mildew, who remained lying on the floor, in shock. “Mildew is an elder of the council,” he said sternly.

“He just said that your son and his best friend, who is practically his sister, deserved to die for their act of heroism. You’re really going to let him say that to your face?” Erland asked, lips set in a snarl.

When Stoick didn’t immediately answer, Erland laughed. “Ohhh, I knew it. I knew I was right all along!” he said in a near-hysterical tone as he faced the crowd. “None of you deserve Hiccup and Zenna. It will be an utter waste of their talents to serve you bunch of stubborn barbarians!” he guffawed.

“Hold your tongue, Erland,” Stoick cautioned him, frowning.

“No, I will NOT, Stoick!” Erland’s cold green eyes glinted as he launched into the tirade to end all tirades.

“We wouldn’t have been in that mess back on the Nest in the first place if it hadn’t been for _your_ interference and obstinacy! If you had just _listened_ to Hiccup _for once in your life_ , then he wouldn’t have lost his leg, Zenna and Stryka wouldn’t have each lost an eye; and to top it all off, neither of them would be fighting for their lives right now!

“All his life, all Hiccup ever wanted from you was your love and respect, for you to not look at him as a useless runt or the village screw-up, but as your son and the rightful heir to this tribe. And every day he tried his best to impress you and finally earn that love and respect, and what did you do instead?

“You just pushed him away because you were ashamed of him for not being a boorish, sword-toting man-child like you and everyone else in this damned village! You call yourself a chief?! HA! You don't even know how to be a father!" Erland yelled, face red with rage.

“Erland…” Astrid stepped forward, frightened.

“And you!” Erland whirled around and jabbed an accusing finger at her. “You _abandoned_ Hiccup and Zenna the minute you saw they didn’t fit the mold! Do you have any idea how hurt they were by that? Then you went so far as to slander Zenna’s older brother’s name – right to her face!”

Next, he glared at Snotlout, Fishlegs, and the Twins. “And you lot! You all belittled Hiccup for years rather than treating him with the respect a future chief deserves! Especially you, Snotlout! You treated your own cousin like dirt! If you ever became chief, I guarantee you that Berk will burn to the ground the minute you’re put in charge!”

Finally, he turned to the entire crowd of Berkians who were all visibly flinching from his hard gaze.

“I could go on and on about all the wrongs you’ve all committed towards Hiccup and Zenna...” Erland sighed, calming down slightly. “But I’m only going to list your worst one: none of you didn’t even _try_ to understand them.

“Hiccup and Zenna are different, and you all shunned them for it. If they were like you, then Berk would still be at war with the dragons and would be severely lacking in intelligence. I’m not afraid to say this all to your faces: you are all idiots. You are all idiots for ostracizing two of the smartest and most caring people on this gods-forsaken island. And thanks to all of your stupidity, they’re now walking the line between life and death.

“If Hiccup and Zenna die…” Erland’s voice hitched. “If they die, you will all have to live the rest of your lives with their blood on their hands!” He then turned to Stoick, who visibly flinched at the pure rage emanating from him. “Especially yours, Stoick! Because you did this! You all did this to them! And I swear to the Norns that I will _never_ forgive any of you if that happens!” he hissed.

Heart thudding painfully in his chest, Erland left, shoving past villagers until he was outside of the Great Hall. And then he ran without stopping until he reached Embla’s cave.

* * *

**_“Loki?”_** Embla opened one eye then both eyes as her Rider dashed in, slamming into her and wrapping his skinny arms around her. She cooed softly, nudging the boy with her tail only to receive a tiny whimper.

Loki could barely keep himself together. He honestly didn’t care if everyone hated him now after that angry speech he had made. He knew his accusations were all based on sound facts. Out of everyone in Berk, he was the only one who genuinely tried to understand Hiccup and Zenna, had been the only one to accept them and their quirks.

And he hadn’t been there to protect Hiccup and Zenna during the battle.

Thanks to the Berkians’ idiocy and his own inaction, Loki was going to lose the only friends he ever had.

It was too much. Loki burst into tears, his wails muffled by Embla’s scaly hide. He beat his fists weakly on Embla’s side, letting loose all the anger, pain, frustration, and sadness he had bottled up over the weeks during his banishment.

He mourned for his family, both old and new, and just felt so lost and alone…

Sensing Loki’s distress, Embla curled herself around the former god and nuzzled him. For a while, neither of them moved and the only sounds that could be heard inside the cave were Loki’s sobs and Embla’s soft comforting hisses.

Then, the _thump-thump-thump_ of a staff made Loki look up.

“There you are,” Gothi sighed, smiling gently as she approached them.

“Leave me alone…” Loki mumbled, drawing his knees up to his chest and turning his head away.

“In your own words… No, I will not, Loki.” Gothi sat next to the depressed god. She patted Embla’s head, the Changewing purring, and asked, “If you wanted to be alone, then you wouldn’t have gone to your dragon for comfort now, would you?”

“What do you want?” Loki glared at the elder, his eyes red-rimmed and still welling up with tears.

“You forgot to mention one other person you blamed for Hiccup and Zenna’s critical condition in your tirade earlier.” Gothi laid a gnarled hand on Loki’s shoulder. “For what it’s worth, boy, _I_ don’t blame you for it,” she said.

“I could have protected them!” Loki’s face crumpled as he broke. “I _should have_ protected them…” he wept, tears streaming down his cheeks.

Gothi stood up and hugged Loki, gently rubbing his back. At first, Loki fought against her hold but surrendered, clinging onto the elder as if his life depended on it and cried.

Gothi sighed, patting his head. “You did all that you could. And look at what you’re able to do now.” She held the young god’s hands. “You have your magic back,” she told him.

“What good is my magic now if the first friends I’ve ever made are now lying on Death’s doorstep?” Erland formed a small golden shield around himself and Gothi. “A shield’s not going to save them,” he lamented.

“But it’s a start.” Gothi squeezed his hands, a determined look in her eyes. “What you did to your brother and Jotunheim was bad enough to make the Norns take away your magic and strip you of your divine status. But, now, they’re giving your powers back… because you’ve learned to _care_ ,” she said.

Loki blinked. “You know what I did?” he breathed out.

“The Norns showed me your misdeeds in a dream,” Gothi explained, tapping her head. “When you fell off the Bifrost, they felt that you still had a chance to redeem yourself. After all, you were just a lost soul, shattered by the revelation of your heritage, in need of help.”

“But why did they bring me _here_?” Loki questioned, drying his eyes.

“Because on this island were two outcasts who were no different from you, two souls who felt just as lost and alone as you had been.”

**_“Hiccup and Zenna,”_** Embla said, her eyes sparkling.

Loki looked down at the cave floor. “I had gone mad. I was just so angry. At Odin, at Thor, at Laufey… I just wanted everyone to hurt, to feel the pain I had felt,” he confessed before looking at Gothi, his shoulders slumped in defeat.

“The Norns made a mistake in letting me live. I would have been better off dead because I can’t change the things I’ve already done,” he whispered.

“True.” Gothi smiled at him. “But you can change _yourself_ and make amends by choosing to do the right thing now. And you’ve already started,” she said sagely before seeing herself out of the cave.

Embla titled her head. **_“She’s got a point. You’ve gone from an evil mad god to a humbled mortal who’s learned how to care for others.”_** She nudged Loki with her head. **_“Don’t give up on yourself just yet, Serpent Tongue. Because I haven’t, and I’m not planning on doing so anytime soon either,”_** she said, giving her Rider a toothy grin.

Looking at Embla, his loyal dragon friend, then at Gothi’s retreating figure, Loki thought about all the two had said to him.

There was no way for him to know how he could possibly atone for all of his sins. But maybe, here, in his new form, and in this new realm, he could start being a better person and work toward making a better future for him and those around him.

Maybe he’ll never get all of his powers back and maybe he’ll never get back to Asgard.

But he had Embla and Gothi… and Hiccup and Zenna.

He wasn’t alone anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yeah, Erland/Loki really needs a hug now. 
> 
> Read and review whenever and whatever you want.


	24. Healing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we see what happened between the "Where's Hiccup?" and "Coming Back Around" scenes in the film. Change isn't always easy but, with faith and a whole lot of hard work, it's possible.
> 
> By far, probably the longest chapter I had ever written for this story. Enjoy!

**Chapter 24: Healing**

When Erland returned to the village, he expected a chilly reception from the people. True enough, most of the villagers avoided his gaze or gave him a wide berth. After his stunt in the arena and his meltdown in the Great Hall, he knew that it would take a while for the Berkians to fully trust him.

_‘Or perhaps they’re avoiding me because Embla’s right behind me,’_ thought Erland, seeing one Viking cower before Embla as she walked a few paces behind him and Gothi. The man whimpered as Embla glanced in his direction, her eyes narrowed, then ran away when she hissed, her forked tongue flicking out.

“Stop scaring them, Embla. Just stay close,” Erland told her, Embla following his command until they were at the lift.

Gothi, back to playing mute, patted Embla on the head, and gave Erland a friendly tap on the back with her staff, then headed back up to her hut.

**_‘I suppose we can start your grand tour at the town plaza,’_** Erland suggested and Embla fell into step beside him. They walked to the plaza where curious children crowded around them.

“Is that a _Changewing_?”

“Can Changewings really turn invisible?”

“Can I pet your dragon, Erland? Please?”

Embla purred, taking a liking to the children and amazed them by going full cloak for a few seconds then reappearing. The children let out “oohs” and “ahhs” as her bright red scales turned green then white then yellow then back to red again. Embla let out happy chirps as a brave Viking girl went up to pet her, giggling when the Changewing nuzzled her.

“She’s friendly!” the child said, prompting other kids to approach Embla.

**_“Ah, if only the adults were as brave as you little ones,”_** Embla remarked to Erland, who smiled. They stayed in the plaza for a while longer, with Embla giving the children permission to sit on her back, before heading out to the sheep grazing fields.

The sheep, unlike the children, took one look at Embla and bolted.

**_“Ooh, do they want to play tag?”_** Embla got ready to follow the frightened animals but stopped when Erland held up his hand and gave her a stern look.

Silent Sven, a bald sheepherder who had taken a vow of silence in his youth, came over, his prized black lamb slung over his shoulders. When he saw that his flock had scattered due to Embla, he shook his head disapprovingly at the Changewing.

“Sorry, Sven…” Erland mumbled, wondering simultaneously how on earth he was going to get the sheep back and why Silent Sven refused to speak. Maybe he was like Gothi and wanted to mess with people by pretending to be mute…

Silent Sven pointed to Embla then jabbed his thumb to the area behind him. Then he pointed his finger to Erland and pointed to the fields in front of them. His instructions were clear.

“Why don’t you go take a nap over there, Embla? I’m sure you must be tired after today,” Erland suggested to his dragon.

Embla had the decency to look embarrassed and headed over to a nearby haystack and lay down. That left Erland alone to find the sheep and herd them back to the fields.

Two hours later, only three sheep had been found. And Silent Sven was glaring at Erland, who looked equal parts exhausted and annoyed.

“I’m doing the best that I can!” exclaimed Erland, pulling at his hair. _‘I need help. A lot of help,’_ he thought, minding the three sheep he had found.

Lucky for Erland, help arrived in the most unexpected fashion.

“COMING IN HOT! AND BLOWING OUT SNOT!”

The sheep bleated and hid behind Silent Sven as Ruffnut and Tuffnut – riding their Hideous Zippleback – crashed just two feet in front of Erland.

**_“Ugh, why did we pick these two idiots?”_** the gas head groaned, spitting out a mouthful of dirt.

**_“Because they’re crazy. And I think we’re idiots ourselves,”_** the spark head replied before noticing Erland. **_“Hey there, Lokes!”_**

****

“Oh, good Norns…” Erland sighed as the Twins recovered from their crash.

“We nearly died…” Ruffnut breathed out, her braids all messy.

“I know.” Tuffnut looked at his sister, a manic gleam in his eyes. “Let’s do it again!”

Looking up, Erland saw Astrid, Fishlegs, and Snotlout on their dragons, all three of them struggling to stay on. Great, just what he needed. More trouble in wrangling Silent Sven’s sheep…

_‘Wait. They’re on dragon back… That’s it!’_ Erland perked up before focusing on the Deadly Nadder, the Monstrous Nightmare, and the Gronckle up in the air.

**_‘All right, you lot. Get your Riders off your backs then scour the skies for some missing sheep. Report to me their locations as soon as you find them!’_ **

****

Hearing Erland’s call, the dragons landed, much to the Riders’ surprise.

“Hey, guys.” Erland grinned at Astrid, Snotlout, and Fishlegs. “I hope you don’t mind but I’m borrowing your dragons,” he said before nodding to the Deadly Nadder, the Monstrous Nightmare, and the Gronckle.

Astrid, Snotlout, and Fishlegs yelped as their dragons shook them off then took to the skies.

“What did you say to them?” asked Astrid, standing up and brushing the dirt off her skirt.

“I told them to help me look for Sven’s missing sheep and to report their locations to us so we can herd them back here,” Erland replied, watching the Zippleback buck the Twins off and join the search.

“Uh… _‘we?’”_ Snotlout frowned.

“It’s a whole flock of sheep, Snotlout. Honestly, you really think I can locate every lost lamb and bring them back here before sunset?” Erland rolled his eyes at him.

Fishlegs shuffled his feet awkwardly. “Well, after everything you did today, we kind of thought you could do just about anything…” he mumbled.

The Twins went up to Erland with grins on their faces, Tuffnut on his left and Ruffnut on his right.

“By the way, that lecture you gave us in the Great Hall earlier? Amazing!” Tuffnut said.

“You really knew how to grab people’s attention and command the room,” Ruffnut added, dreamy-eyed.

Erland blinked. “You… You’re not mad?” he asked, looking at the teens’ warily.

“Why would we be? We deserved it.” Astrid placed her hand on Erland’s shoulder. “We were really horrible to Hiccup and Zenna, Erland. And we promise to make it up to them… and to you,” she said, smiling gently.

Cheeks flushed pink, Erland turned away and began to briskly walk out into the fields. “W-well, you can start making it up to me by looking for some lost sheep!” he stuttered just as the Deadly Nadder belonging to Astrid came back.

**_“I found three grazing near the river, Serpent Tongue!”_ **

****

“Three sheep have been found near the river. Astrid, Snotlout, head over there and get them,” Erland instructed, keeping an eye out for the other dragons.

“Who put him in charge?” Snotlout muttered, earning a hard punch to the shoulder from Astrid.

Not long after Astrid and Snotlout had left, the Gronckle and the Zippleback returned.

**_“We found four in the forest…”_** the gas head began.

**_“…and two near the yak-grazing fields!”_** the spark head concluded.

**_“I found two lambs and their mother near one of the caves and had Hookfang watch over them. But you might want to hurry. I think he was hungry,”_** the Gronckle buzzed, her wings beating frantically.

“ _Hookfang_?” Erland raised an eyebrow, catching Fishlegs’ attention.

“Oh, he’s the Monstrous Nightmare.” Fishlegs beamed at the Gronckle who let out a happy growl. “We named our dragons shortly after we arrived. I call my handsome boy _Meatlug_ ,” he cooed, waving to his dragon.

_‘Should I tell him that Meatlug’s a girl?’_ Erland asked himself before Ruffnut and Tuffnut butted in. “We named our Zippleback _Barf_ and _Belch_!” they announced.

**_“I’m Barf!”_** the gas head said followed by the spark head saying, **_“And I’m Belch!”_** as they intertwined their long necks. **_“And we’re ready to serve you, oh great Loki the Cunning!”_**

****

“Good names.” Erland nodded, partnering with Fishlegs to find the sheep near one of Berk’s many caves.

“Do you think it’s a good idea to let the Twins retrieve the sheep on their own?” asked Fishlegs, watching Ruffnut and Tuffnut follow their Zippleback. He could already hear the beginnings of an argument between the two Thorstons as they left.

“Eh, they’ll be fine.” Erland waved off his concerns.

The duo trekked over to the caves and spotted Hookfang cornering two lambs and an ewe who were bleating for their lives.

“Hookfang, you’re not allowed to eat them,” Erland said, glaring at the Monstrous Nightmare.

Hookfang snorted, smoke blowing out of his nostrils. **_“Not even a nibble?”_** he asked hopefully.

“Not even a nibble,” Erland repeated, shaking his head.

Reluctant, Hookfang backed off, allowing Fishlegs and Erland to get the sheep.

“How do you do it? How can you and the dragons communicate?” Fishlegs asked, carrying one of the lambs on his shoulders.

Erland smirked. “There are some things in this world that can never be explained, Fishlegs Ingerman. I am one of those things,” he declared, snickering at Fishlegs’ bewildered look.

The sheep calmed down once they were herded back to the grazing fields. Astrid and Snotlout were already there, minding the three sheep they’d been tasked to retrieve.

“Not bad. You two did it in record time,” Erland praised them.

“Thanks to _Stormfly_ ,” Astrid said, looking over her shoulder to where her Deadly Nadder was lying down with Embla.

The Twins returned with their six sheep looking a little singed around the edges.

Silent Sven bit his lip to stop himself from screaming before proceeding to chase Ruffnut and Tuffnut off his land.

**_“Mistakes were made,”_** Barf and Belch admitted in unison, landing before Erland.

“I can see that.” Erland grimaced, seeing the traumatized look on the sheep’s faces.

Once the sheep were back in the pens, the riders and their dragons were free to go. Mounting their dragons, Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs, and the Twins followed Erland and Embla’s lead. They did a few loop-de-loops, a few twirls, and a couple of upward spirals, laughing and shouting with joy.

**_‘I have to admit. Flying made me feel a little better,’_** Erland admitted silently to Embla as they headed back to Gothi’s hut, the sun beginning to set behind them.

Embla suddenly turned around and looked behind her. Already, the Berkians were beginning to take down the catapults that once resided on the watchtowers. Only the grand torches remained, where a couple of dragons either nested or lit aflame. Progress was already being made to make the island dragon-friendly. It was slow, but it was a start.

“Uh, Embla? Are you okay?” Erland tugged at the saddle lightly, snapping the Changewing out of her thoughts.

**_“I think I’m going to like it here,”_** Embla said simply as she dropped off Erland on the front porch. He chuckled and hugged her head, scratching the sweet spot behind her vines.

“See you tomorrow, Embla,” Erland whispered, pressing his forehead against Embla’s.

Embla licked his cheek then disappeared into the twilight.

Feeling content, Erland headed inside the hut where he and Gothi ate and chatted over what the next step should be, how things would change, and they prayed to the Norns that Hiccup and Zenna would recover soon.

* * *

When night fell, Erland carved another notch into his bedpost and slipped under the covers. But even in his dreams, he was restless. He dreamt that he was standing on the Bifrost as Loki again. On one side, which led into Asgard, were Thor, Frigga, and Odin.

They were calling out to him, begging him to come home.

“Please, my son, let me make it up to you. Let me try and repair the rift between us,” Odin coaxed him.

“I will be a better brother. Come home, Loki,” Thor implored.

“Come back, Loki. Come back to us,” Frigga pleaded.

He’d taken only a few steps towards them when, all of a sudden, the Bifrost gave a violent heave, cracks blooming across its rainbow structure. Then he heard screams.

“HELP!”

“SOMEBODY HELP US!”

Turning around, Loki saw Hiccup and Zenna hanging onto the broken edges of the Bifrost. The vacuum of space was sucking the two young Vikings down and they were utterly terrified.

Looking back and forth between both ends of the Bifrost, Loki’s heart sank. Turning to his family, who were still calling out to him, he smiled sadly. “I’m sorry,” he whispered as he made his choice.

He could feel his body shrinking as he ran, his magic draining out of him, as he turned back into Erland. Putting on a burst of speed, he threw himself onto the Bifrost and grabbed Hiccup and Zenna just as they were about to let go.

“Hang on you two!” he yelled to his two best friends as the edge of the bridge threatened to give out. Using all of his strength, he pulled Hiccup and Zenna up to safety.

Relief flooded Erland’s veins as Hiccup and Zenna collapsed against him, crying and laughing with joy. Wrapping his arms around them, he cried and laughed with them. He’d done it. He had saved them from suffering the same fate he had in the past…

Then Erland looked around and saw that everything around them was turning white.

“Erland, what’s going on?” Hiccup asked, noticing their surroundings.

“Everything’s going to be all right, Hiccup,” Erland reassured him, smiling calmly.

“It’s all disappearing…” Zenna whimpered, huddling closer to her two boys.

“It’ll be okay, Zenna,” Erland told her, watching the landscape turn into glowing whiteness. Holding Hiccup and Zenna close, he shut his eyes.

“I’ll protect you two. _I promise._ ”

Then he woke up.

* * *

Blinking the sleep out of his eyes, Erland got up and stretched. It was still pretty early, the sun just beginning to peek out from over the horizon. He carved another notch into his bedpost, filched a canteen of water, a few slices of bread he had found in the cupboard, and an apple before taking the lift down into the village.

Hardly anyone was awake, save for Gobber and a few early morning fishermen.

Gobber waved to Erland when the lad came to his stall. “You sure gave us all somethin’ to think about, lad. I used to think only Stoick could have the lungs to silence the entire hall. You certainly spooked him,” he said, chuckling.

Erland smiled a little. The only adults, aside from Gothi, whom he genuinely liked were Hiccup’s blacksmith mentor and Zenna’s parents. He could count on them to change as opposed to the rest of the village. He handed Gobber his daggers and watched the blacksmith sharpen them while eating his bread.

Just when he finished the last crust, he noticed Toothless’ old saddle hung up over a wall.

“Ah, that thing.” Gobber followed Erland’s gaze and grinned. “I always knew Hiccup was clever with his hands but for the life of me I never imagined he could actually make… _that_ ,” he said, handing Erland his daggers and limping over to the saddle.

“Probably his finest work yet, this tail,” he murmured, inspecting the burnt and twisted metal remains of Toothless’ prosthetic tailfin. “I see he made good use of one of the armory’s old swords and the rivets of a shield. Brilliant! I’ll have to ask him how he put this all together when he wakes up. Make his Night Fury a new one…”

Erland perked up at Gobber’s idea and quickly went into Hiccup’s private nook in the forge. Sifting through Hiccup’s old plans, he found the designs for the tail fin and gave them to Gobber along with some drawings of Toothless, Stryka, and Embla.

Gobber’s eyebrows went up as he examined the blueprints, and his mouth dropped open when he saw the drawings. Taking one look at Erland, he smiled warmly. “I think Stoick needs to see this,” he said.

“You go on ahead. I’ll stop by the Fiersomes first,” Erland mumbled, already leaving the forge before Gobber clapped a hand on his shoulder.

“Ah, don’t ever feel sorry for what you did, Erland. We all deserved it and Stoick knows it,” the blacksmith told him.

Erland left, mulling over Gobber’s words, until his feet led him to the Fiersomes’ front door. He felt his guts twist with guilt when he knocked on the door and Edgar came out, dark bruises under his eyes and his curly black hair looking more disheveled than usual and even sporting some new silver strands.

“Don’t give me that guilty look, Erland. Now come inside for some tea,” Edgar said briskly, showing the boy inside.

Stryka came down from the rafters and tackled Erland, licking him. **_“Loki! I’m so happy to see you!”_** she yapped, nuzzling her friend.

“Likewise, Stryka,” Erland chuckled as Stryka let him get up from the floor, wiping Night Fury saliva off his face.

Stryka crooned and went over to the den, where she lay down, her one eye trained on a bed placed near the hearth.

Henna, despite her exhaustion, managed a smile when she saw who her husband had welcomed in. “Here you are, dear. Nice and hot, perfect for a chilly morning like this,” she said softly, handing Erland a cup of tea.

Despite the soothing warmth, Erland couldn’t take his eyes off Zenna. The young girl was still unconscious. Her face was white as milk and the only the slight rise and fall of her chest indicated that she was still alive. The bandages covering her right eye socket had been changed, fresh blood already beginning to seep through the white gauze.

Sitting beside Zenna, Erland gently touched her hand and sighed when he didn’t get a response. He looked at Edgar and Henna, and immediately felt guilty.

The two of them were exhausted, not having slept at all last night, and their eyes were puffy and bloodshot. They had already lost Elias, which had plunged their family into darkness with Zenna becoming suicidal for a short while. If they lost her too… they wouldn’t know how to live anymore.

But despite all the pain, Edgar and Henna still managed to smile for Erland. He had been nothing but supportive of their daughter’s dreams and almost like an older brother to Zenna and Hiccup, whom they already considered like a son. And, while they didn’t say it out loud, they were beginning to see Erland as a son as well.

“She’ll be all right, Erland,” said Henna, sitting beside him and gently running her hand through Zenna’s hair. “I know my daughter, and she’s got a strong heart and spirit. She’ll be up and about soon. I just know it.”

Erland nodded and sighed. “About what I said in the Great Hall, I-I didn’t mean to include you and your husband in my rant. I just…” he managed to say before Edgar politely cut him off.

“Oh, no, we are just as guilty as everyone else is, Erland,” said Edgar, sitting beside Henna. “We weren’t the best parents to Zenna either.”

“We made Zenna think that she had to prove herself. She had always looked up to her brother but never wanted to be a warrior like him. And while we supported her choice in pursuing a healer’s path, we made her think that we wanted her to be more than she was…” Henna’s gazed at her daughter sadly. “But she’s already perfect just the way she is. We just never told her,” she whispered, her brown eyes welling up with tears.

Stryka whimpered and rested her head on Henna’s lap, the Fiersome matriarch smiling and gently stroking her.

Erland felt his throat go dry and he took a small sip of water from his canteen. “You’ll get to tell her that when she wakes up,” he told Zenna’s mother.

Smiling slightly, Henna gave Erland a side hug. “Thank you, Erland,” she said sincerely.

Edgar chuckled and ruffled the boy’s hair. “Henna and I are glad our precious little gemstone is friends with a brave and noble lad like you.” A teasing smile graced his lips. “But if you want to be more than friends with my daughter, you and I’ll have to have a chat, man-to-man,” he added.

“Edgar!” Henna smacked her husband in the chest. “Honestly, Stryka. He says such the silliest things, doesn’t he?” she joked to the Night Fury looking up at her.

**_“He’s not silly. He’s overprotective. I remember how my father used to challenge Toothless when he started courting me,”_** Stryka warbled, smiling.

Erland couldn’t stop giggling as he translated Stryka’s words to Zenna’s parents.

“At least Stryka understands!” Edgar pointed out, blushing while his wife and Erland laughed.

Erland stayed at the Fiersomes for a while, watching over Zenna along with Stryka. When he decided to go, he held Zenna’s limp right hand and gently kissed it. “I’ll come back tomorrow,” he promised and gave Stryka a friendly pat before leaving.

Arriving at the Haddock house, Erland hesitated. He knew that his tirade the day before had undoubtedly struck a nerve. He had called out the chief of Berk. There was no way Stoick could ever forgive him for such a slight. Hell, he was probably going to be banished on the spot the minute he knocked on that door…

But before Erland could decide whether or not he should knock, the door opened and there was Gobber.

“Ah, Erland! We were just talkin’ about you!” the blacksmith said jovially, pulling the young man inside.

Gulping, Erland found himself face-to-face with Stoick the Vast. The chief’s expression was unreadable, hidden well by his massive red beard, but he nodded at Gobber who produced the designs for Toothless’ tailfin.

“As I was saying, I was suggesting to Stoick that you and I can work together on making a new saddle for Toothy here.” Gobber gestured with his hook hand to Toothless, who was curled up beside Hiccup’s bed.

The male Night Fury paused from his guard duty to look at the visitor and smiled toothlessly at Erland who smiled back.

“And,” Gobber produced a small notebook from his pocket and flipped it opened it to designs for what looked like a prosthetic leg with a curious-looking latched end, showing it to Erland. “I’ve got some plans for Hiccup’s new leg,” he announced.

Looking at the design, Erland could see how the prosthetic combined Gobber’s expertise in forging and Hiccup’s own sense of innovation. The leg looked just the right fit for a modified stirrup that would directly connect to Toothless’ tail fin.

“I think I can help with both of these projects,” said Erland, ideas already bouncing around inside his head.

“Splendid! We’ll start tomorrow!” Gobber gave Erland such a hearty slap on the back that he nearly fell over. Nodding to Stoick, the blacksmith saw himself out.

Now alone with only Toothless serving as a barrier of sorts between him and Stoick, Erland went over to Hiccup’s bedside. His chest tightened when he saw that, like Zenna, Hiccup was in a coma. The now one-legged boy’s face was pale, making his many freckles stand out, and his rich brown hair was plastered to his forehead with sweat. A fever had already set in.

“I should have listened to him.”

Erland’s head snapped up. Stoick stood over his son’s bed, the wrinkles around his face a little more pronounced and his eyes dull. “You had every right to be angry at me. At all of us.” Stoick leaned down and pressed his lips to the crown of his son’s head. “I failed to protect him,” he sighed.

Once, Erland thought of Stoick the Vast as another version of Odin. They were both stubborn as bilgesnipes and were so sure of themselves. But, now, seeing Stoick so run down and barely clinging to hope… he couldn’t find it in his heart to be bitter towards him anymore.

_‘He and Odin are so much alike… They’re both clueless in dealing with children who turn out different,’_ he thought, smiling ruefully to himself.

Looking Stoick in the eye, Erland took a deep breath as he tried to think of the right words to say. “You _did_ fail him, Stoick,” he stated.

Stoick nodded, bowing his head.

“But,” Stroking Toothless’ head, Erland went on. “that doesn’t mean you don’t get another chance. When Hiccup wakes up, show him how much you’ve changed, how _Berk_ has changed. Your people turn to you for guidance. Be the guide they need. Help them see that what your son and Zenna fought for is worth something, that Vikings and dragons _can_ coexist in peace,” he implored.

For a moment, Stoick’s face remained still as stone. Then, finally, a smile twitched to life underneath his beard.

**_“Looks like you got through to him, Loki,”_** Toothless said, resting his head lightly against Hiccup’s pillow.

Erland smiled a little and extended his hand, offering Stoick something he rarely gave anyone: his forgiveness.

“Thank you,” Stoick said, clasping Erland’s hand strongly in his own.

“You have my forgiveness, Stoick. Do what I ask for your son’s sake and I will swear allegiance to Berk and help to defend it,” Erland replied.

Stoick agreed to Erland’s terms, not knowing that the boy had already sworn allegiance to Berk.

More specifically, to Hiccup and Zenna.

* * *

The next few weeks were hard for everyone.

With Hiccup and Zenna unavailable, Erland became the acting leader of the Dragon Riders. When he wasn’t visiting Hiccup and Zenna or helping Gobber design and craft new saddles and Hiccup’s prosthetic, he was helping Astrid and the rest of the teens train and form a stronger bond with their dragons.

“The dragons can do things none of you can do. But you can do things they can’t do, too. Learn how to support each other. And above all, trust one another. That is the very core of being a dragon trainer,” he advised them on one particular day where Snotlout and Hookfang decided to butt heads, which involved Snotlout boasting how he was tougher than a Monstrous Nightmare and had his butt burnt when Hookfang decided to flame up.

“Another piece of advice: don’t be Snotlout,” Erland deadpanned, shaking his head as the Jorgenson sprinted to the nearest water trough.

* * *

Winter came, blanketing Berk in snow. During those long winter days, Erland took to the skies more often with Embla. Maybe it was due to his Jotun heritage, but he quite liked the cold. The cold helped distract him from his worrying, which got worse as Hiccup and Zenna remained comatose throughout the winter.

Over time, the rest of the Berkians began to get used to having the dragons around. While an occasional fire broke out or a house got damaged, both problems were remedied by cooperation among the villagers and help from the dragons when it came to heavy lifting and getting from Point A to Point B quickly.

The villagers also began to trust Erland more, especially after they saw how the dragons respected him. If a fight between two dragons broke out within the village area, Erland was quick to arrive on Embla. All it took was a stern look from the boy and the dragons would cease their squabbles.

“It must be because he’s a _seidr_. He’s charming those dragons to obey his every command,” One Viking man whispered to his cousin.

“Maybe he’s a dragon himself!” speculated another.

“Oh, really? Then where are his wings? His scales? Nah, he’s clearly using some sort of spell to keep them lizards calm.”

**_‘If only they knew,’_** Embla looked to her Rider, the two of them sharing a secret smile.

* * *

A month after the Battle with the Red Death, Erland went to visit the Fiersomes as usual. But this visit was going to be different because when he walked in, he was greeted with a pleasant surprise.

“Hey, Erland.” Zenna smiled as she sat up in bed, wearing a black leather eye patch over her right eye.

Dropping the basket of fruit Gothi had him take to Zenna’s parents, Erland rushed over and embraced Zenna tightly.

“Yeah, I’m happy to see you too,” Zenna giggled when Erland sobbed, hugging him back.

“The next time you want to take an extended nap, let me know!” Erland exclaimed, feeling a little hysterical, his throat tight with tears.

“Noted,” Zenna murmured, letting him hug her for as long as he needed.

They visited Hiccup the next day, Stryka and Embla accompanying them. Embla had been overjoyed to see Zenna finally awake, cooing and nuzzling the one-eyed Fiersome as they walked the short distance from Zenna’s house to Hiccup’s.

**_“I’m so glad that your hatchling’s all right. Now she can help Loki in training the others,”_** Embla said.

**_“I would have helped keep the other dragons in line, Embla, but I needed to look after Zenna,”_** Stryka replied, jumping into any snowdrift she saw and getting covered with snow.

**_“I understand, Stryka. But, still, it would have saved me a lot of headaches if you’d been there. Honestly, some of the people and dragons Loki and I have had to deal with really tested our patience!”_** Embla put a claw to her head, dramatically changing her bright red scales to pure snow white.

Upon arrival at the Haddock House, Zenna finally patched things up with Stoick and saw Hiccup’s stump for the first time.

“It’s not fair,” said Zenna when she, Erland, and their dragons were left alone in the house. Stoick had gone off to do some chiefing and Gobber had arrived earlier to make the final measurements for the prosthetic leg he and Erland had designed.

“Everything changed because of him and he’s not here to see it,” she murmured, leaning against Erland.

“He will see it. When he wakes up, we’ll let him know that he really made a difference.” Erland smiled and ruffled Zenna’s hair. “You made a difference too, you know?” he asked coyly.

Zenna grinned before looking at Erland expectantly. “Hey, remember when you said that you’d tell me and Hiccup the whole truth about you once everything was over?” she asked.

Erland felt his insides turn to ice. Norns, he wasn’t ready!

“That’s okay. You don’t have to tell me yet. Hiccup and I promised each other that we’d hear you out together and when you’re ready,” Zenna told him, smiling reassuringly.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Erland looked at Hiccup’s peaceful face. _‘Wake up soon, little brother. There’s so much I want to tell you and Zen,’_ he prayed.

* * *

The month seemed to crawl at a snail’s pace while Erland and Zenna waited for Hiccup to wake up. To pass the time, they took Toothless outside for exercise, went on daily patrols, and planned a celebration for everyone on Berk.

The celebration had been Zenna’s idea and she thought it’d be a good idea to tell all of Berk the story of how she, Hiccup, and Erland met and bonded with their best dragon friends. Recruiting the rest of the teens had been easy. Now the challenge was to make sure that they stuck to the original story and not make any embellishments.

Erland was in charge of the dragons, making sure that they would come when called. **_“Remember, this is for Hiccup. And this is our big chance to show everyone that our two species can get along,”_** he reminded them.

**_“Be on your best behavior, all of you, on the day of the celebration. The last thing we want is to upset any of the humans.”_** Stryka stepped forward, an almost queenly air about her. **_“Peace is a fragile thing. We’ve finally got our peace. Let’s make sure we don’t lose it,”_** she warned her scaled brethren.

Even Erland was stunned by her little speech. After a minute, he clapped. “Spoken like a true queen, Stryka!” he praised the one-eyed dragoness.

**_“That’s because she_** **is _a queen!”_** Toothless said proudly, draping a wing over Stryka. **_“We won’t lose it, my love. As long as we stick together with Hiccup and Zenna, peace will always be ours.”_**

****

**_“Don’t forget Loki.”_** Embla nuzzled her rider. **_“With him, we’ve been able to let the humans know how we feel,”_** she added.

Stormfly, Hookfang, Meatlug, and Barf and Belch then looked at Erland curiously.

**_“Come to think of it, I always expected the great Serpent Tongue to look… well, older,”_** Meatlug mused.

**_“Is this what you really look like, Serpent Tongue?”_** Stormfly cocked her head quizzically.

**_“Obviously not!”_** said Barf.

**_“He’s masquerading as a human to fool the real humans. It’s a classic Loki move!”_** Belch hissed in agreement.

**_“Somehow, I don’t think that’s the case. Then again he_** **is _the Serpent Tongue. He specializes in lies,”_** Hookfang said, his eyes narrowed suspiciously.

Erland looked down at his boots. He hadn’t expected the dragons to start doubting him. Would it be safe to tell them his story?

**_“That’s enough, Hookfang,”_** Toothless said in an authoritative tone. **_“Lies or no lies, Loki’s done a lot for Berk. Stryka and I trust him. If he has any secrets, who are we to pry?”_**

****

**_“Understood.”_** Hookfang bowed his head. **_“Forgive me, Serpent Tongue. I did not mean to be impudent,”_** he apologized sincerely.

**_‘You are forgiven, Hookfang,’_** Erland said, sending Toothless a grateful smile.

While he wasn’t ready to tell all of Berk his story, Loki knew that he would have to tell it.

But not today.

* * *

The Great Hall was packed on the day Erland, Zenna, and the Dragon Riders decided to come forward with their story. It was a celebration in Hiccup’s honor and, despite a certain old coot’s protests, the storytelling began without a hitch.

“The night Hiccup shot Toothless out of the sky, nobody believed him except for me and Erland since we were the only one to witness him shoot down a Night Fury.

“When dawn came, I followed him to the woods just off Raven Point. Finding Toothless ensnared in the bolas from Hiccup’s Mangler was just the tip of the iceberg. I… I honestly thought he was insane when he began to free him. Once the last rope was cut, Toothless pinned Hiccup to the ground! I’d left my battle sticks at home so the best weapon I could find was a broken branch. Then…I met Stryka, my best dragon friend.”

Zenna giggled as Stryka padded over to her to give her a big lick. The audience laughed and the tale continued with Erland and Embla stepping forward.

“The first thing I thought of when I saw them with Toothless and Stryka for the first time was that they were the craziest pair of Vikings I had ever met.

“But it only took me a moment to realize that Hiccup and Zenna…” Erland smiled at the latter. “They were daring enough to try and do the impossible, which was to befriend the unholy offspring of lightning and death themselves. And they’ve succeeded. Plus, if it hadn’t been for them, well, I’d still be afraid of going home to Gothi’s wooden death trap of a hut high up on the cliff,” he declared, earning a wry smile from the elder.

“It was meeting Embla when she was sick and in need of help did I really get a sense of what it was like to bond with a dragon.”

Embla purred, flapping her wings slightly at Erland’s words.

“I felt a bit like an outcast myself,” Erland admitted, petting her. “Hiccup and Zenna extended to me their friendship and taught me so much about what it is to be a true friend, to be a brother, to keep marching on even when the world has turned its back on you.”

Smiling, Erland spread his arms out wide. “Once, I felt like I had no home in the world. Thanks to Hiccup, Zenna, and the dragons, I’ve found one,” he said, the audience clapping.

The whole thing was a roaring success, with the teens coming forward to tell their parts of the story and their dragons supporting them every step of the way.

Stoick sat next to an empty chair, a chair meant for his son, and listened as Erland, Zenna, Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut told their tale. Looking at Gobber, then at Edgar and Henna, he felt proud. He was proud of them. He was especially proud of his son. Even if he wasn’t there, Hiccup was the reason for this celebration.

When Zenna ended the tale, he was among the first to clap and the first to congratulate her and the teens.

Raising his tankard of mead, Stoick shouted, “To my son! To Hiccup!”

“To Hiccup!” the Berkians cheered.

“To Zenna!” Stoick boomed.

“To Zenna!” Edgar and Henna cheered louder than all the rest.

“To Erland!” Stoick cheered.

“To Erland!” the Berkians hollered.

“A new age has come! The age of the Dragon Riders!” Stoick proclaimed.

“Dragon Riders!” Erland, Zenna, Astrid, Fishlegs, Snotlout, and the Twins shouted.

**_“Dragon Riders!”_** Toothless, Stryka, Embla, Stormfly, Meatlug, Hookfang, and Barf and Belch roared.

“TO THE DRAGON RIDERS!”

* * *

The day after the celebration, Erland found himself walking with Zenna over to Hiccup’s house. To his bewilderment, Stryka was carrying a familiar-looking shrub with small pink flowers in her mouth.

“Isn’t that one of your mother’s prized shrubs?” Erland asked.

Zenna merely nodded, already wincing at the thought of explaining the whole situation to her mom.

Arriving at Hiccup’s house, Erland and Zenna were greeted by the door – literally.

“Damn you, Snotlout! What was that for?!” Zenna yelled as the Jorgenson rushed past her and Erland.

“I can help him in training Hookfang but I can’t do much about his manners,” Erland muttered, rubbing the sore spot on his face from where the door had smacked him.

“Hiccup’s waking up! _He’s waking up!_ ”

Already, Snotlout was far away but they had heard him. Erland and Zenna rushed inside the Haddock house.

Toothless was beside Hiccup, his green eyes welling up with tears.

**_“Toothless…”_** Stryka whispered, approaching her beloved mate and nuzzling him.

**_“He’s waking up. He’s finally waking up…”_** Toothless sobbed, watching his rider stir.

Erland and Zenna could hardly believe their eyes.

Hiccup was _moving_ around in his bed. While his eyes were closed, he was already breathing at the same rate as a semi-conscious person. He was whimpering, his hands cradling his stump.

“Hiccup…?” Erland and Zenna approached Hiccup, the latter turning his head at the sound of their voices.

“Zenna…? Erland…? Leg… hurts…” he whimpered. His ears pricked up at the sound of soft laughter. How long had he been out? Were Erland and Zenna okay?

Hiccup calmed down when he felt Zenna’s hand stroke his cheek. “Don’t worry, Hiccup. It’ll go away…” she whispered to him.

He then felt Erland gently tousle his hair. “We’re waiting for you, Hiccup. We all are,” his big brother told him.

That was the last thing Hiccup heard before he drifted off.

When Hiccup settled back into slumber, Erland and Zenna continued watching over him.

“He’s coming back around,” Zenna whispered, tears of relief sliding down her face.

“It won’t be long now. He’ll be with us again,” Erland said, smiling tearfully.

* * *

Finally, three months after the battle with the Red Death, Hiccup finally woke up.

The prosthetic was a shock and had taken some getting used to, but he was able to make it to the door with Toothless’ help.

The first thing Hiccup said upon seeing the new dragon-friendly village of Berk was, “I knew it. I’m dead.”

“No, but you gave it your best shot.”

Startled, Hiccup turned and saw his father approach him. Beaming, Stoick put his arm around his son. “So what do you think?” he asked, his son utterly gobsmacked.

“Hey, look! It’s Hiccup!”

Spitelout and a few of the Berkians nearby rushed over to greet the now awake Pride of Berk, who still couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

_‘They’re riding dragons. They’re building houses for the dragons. They’re… working_ with _the dragons! I must be in Valhalla…’_ thought Hiccup before his father’s voice brought him out of his musings.

“Turns out all we needed was a little more of… _this_ ,” Stoick remarked, gesturing to all of his son.

“You just gestured to all of me,” Hiccup said, amazed.

“Better get used to that then.”

“Why wouldn’t he? You’re a hero, after all.”

Forgetting that he was now an amputee, Hiccup ran to Erland and Zenna – stumbling a little on the way - and embraced them tightly.

“Good Norns, from the way you’re acting, it’s as if _Zenna and I_ were the ones who had been in a coma for three months!” Erland joked, hugging Hiccup nonetheless.

“Sorry.” Hiccup smiled sheepishly. “I-I just missed you guys,” he confessed.

“We missed you too, Hicc,” Zenna said, embracing her brother not by blood but by bond.

Gobber ambled over to the trio. “Well, most of you. That bit’s my and Erland’s handiwork. With a little Hiccup flair thrown in!” he motioned to the prosthetic. “You think it’ll do?” he asked his apprentice.

Hiccup looked at his new leg. Great care had definitely been put into making it. The fact that Erland had helped Gobber make it made the prosthetic even more special. But, well, just because something worked didn’t mean it couldn’t be improved.

“I might make a few tweaks,” he said at last.

“Oh, I’m sure you will,” Erland chuckled, shaking his head as Embla joined him, the Changewing sporting a new sky blue saddle.

Then Astrid came in, punching Hiccup in the shoulder. “That’s for scaring me,” she told him.

“Wh-what? Is it always going to be this way? Because…” Hiccup managed to stutter before Astrid pulled him towards her and kissed him.

For a second, Hiccup just stared at Astrid, dazed. “…I could get used to it,” he managed to say once his brain finished rebooting, earning a soft smile from Astrid.

“I told you they were going to kiss!” Zenna smirked and held out her palm to Erland. Rolling his eyes, Erland reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver piece. He had a feeling that he was going to lose more bets (and more money) to Zenna in the future when it came to those two lovebirds.

Just when Hiccup thought things couldn’t get any better, Gobber presented him with a new tail fin for Toothless. “Welcome home,” his mentor told him.

Looking at his father, Hiccup felt like he was soaring. His father smiled back at him, pride shining in his eyes clear as daylight.

He finally got his dad to really see him… in his own Hiccup-y way.

“Night Fury!”

“Get down!”

Toothless burst out of the house, jumping on a few unlucky Vikings’ backs to get to Hiccup. **_“What are we waiting for, Hiccup? The sky awaits us!”_** he growled.

Laughing, Hiccup, Astrid, Zenna, and Erland mounted their dragons.

“You ready?” Hiccup asked Toothless who chuffed, **_“I’m always ready, Hiccup!”_**

****

“We’re ready as we can be, Hiccup! _Lead the way!_ ” Zenna cheered.

**_“And prepare to eat our dust!”_** Embla roared.

“Prepare to eat our dust!” Erland cackled as he and Embla got a head start, taking off before Toothless, Stryka, and Stormfly could.

“Hey, no fair!” Astrid shouted.

“That’s cheating!” Hiccup hollered before looking at Zenna with a grin.

“Well, we’re not letting them get away with that, are we?” Zenna laughed as the three of them took off in pursuit of the mischievous duo.

_This… is Berk. It snows nine months of the year and hails the other three._

“Took you long enough!” Erland hollered, laughing as Toothless overtook Embla.

_Any food that grows here is tough and tasteless. The_ people _that grow here are even more so._

The group flew down to the docks, whooping as they rushed by the ships at breathtaking speeds.

_The only upsides are the pets._

Fishlegs and Meatlug joined in the race, followed by Snotlout and Hookfang, then Ruffnut and Tuffnut with Barf and Belch.

_While other places have ponies or parrots…_

Leading the team, Hiccup and Toothless, Zenna and Stryka, and Erland and Embla soared up higher into the clouds.

_We have… dragons!_

* * *

When they had been up in the air for a considerable amount of time, Erland suggested giving the dragons a break.

“Can we head to the cove?” Erland steeled his nerves. “There’s… There’s something I need to tell you two,” he said.

Hiccup and Zenna looked at him strangely but, thankfully, didn’t ask any questions. Toothless and Stryka started flying over to the cove.

**_“Is it time?”_** Embla looked up at Erland, who took a deep breath and nodded.

**_‘It’s time,’_** Erland replied, gripping the edges of the saddle so hard that his knuckles turned white.

It was time, to tell the truth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's time for Hiccup and Zenna to learn the full story in the next chapter.


	25. Weirdos For Life!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the truth comes out.
> 
> Important Note: The lyrics come from an HTTYD fan song by boyonastring and they don't belong to me.

**Chapter 25: Weirdos for Life!**

“Okay. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this…” Erland muttered to himself as he walked to the cove. But as he approached the worn trail leading to the cove, the less brave he felt. “Oh Norns, I don’t know if I can do this…” He turned around only for Gothi to hit him on the head.

**_“You know there’s no escape from this,”_** Embla purred, blocking his path.

“I did not come all the way here to see you break your promise, Loki,” said Gothi sternly, one hand on her hip.

Sighing, Erland continued walking until he, Gothi, and Embla were at the cove. Hiccup and Zenna were waiting for them, Toothless and Stryka playing near the pond.

“Oh, Gothi’s with you?” Zenna cocked her head to the side, seeing her mentor.

“She’s here for moral support,” Erland explained, wringing his hands. Gothi patted Erland on the back, resting against Embla. She knew this wasn’t easy for him, being the God of Lies and all.

“I’m scared, but I promised you two that I would be completely honest,” Erland began, trying his hardest not to tremble.

“It’s okay. We know this isn’t easy for you,” Zenna said calmly.

“I just don’t how you two will take this…” Erland mumbled, taking a deep breath.

“That you’re actually Loki, the God of Mischief,” Hiccup stated.

“Yes, and I…” Erland’s eyes widened. “Wait, _what_?” he gaped at the duo for a split second before whipping his head back to glare at Gothi. “Did you tell them?!” he yelled.

“No!” Gothi replied before gasping and clapping a hand over her mouth.

Now it was Hiccup and Zenna’s turn to gape.

“Gothi? You’re not mute?!” Hiccup’s jaw dropped.

Zenna was livid. “You mean to tell me that this whole time, you were pretending to be mute? Do you have any idea how many headaches you could have saved us both from if you had just _told me_ what I was doing wrong during our lessons?!” she exclaimed, clutching her hair in frustration.

Gothi had the decency to look apologetic.

In spite of his shock, Loki laughed. “I have to live with this woman’s antics _every day_ ,” he told Zenna who snorted.

“Yeah, but you’ve only been living with her for three months. She’s been hitting me on the head with her staff for _eight years_ ,” she pointed out, glaring a little at Gothi.

Hiccup raised his hand. “Back to what you were going to say…” he frowned at Erland. “Um… should we call you Loki now or keep calling you Erland?” he asked.

“I’m fine with either.” Loki shrugged. “Although, I think it would be best that you two call me ‘Erland’ when we’re out in public. If it’s just us and the dragons, you can call me Loki,” he said.

“You’re not going to tell anyone else?” asked Zenna, fiddling with her eye patch.

Loki put a hand to his chin. “Everyone in the village would have a hard time believing me. And even if they did, I can’t say that they’ll be pleased to know I’m walking among them. I do have a reputation as you both know,” he said, smirking. His smirk grew wider as he got an idea. “Though I believe Ruffnut and Tuffnut should be in the know,” he suggested.

“No!” Hiccup and Zenna cried out, their faces pale.

“Absolutely not! They can’t know,” Hiccup said, shaking his head for emphasis.

“Aw, why not? They worship me,” Loki pouted.

“If they knew who you really are, they are going to follow you wherever you go and pester you with who knows how many questions. Do you really want that?” Zenna countered.

That made Loki pause for thought. “I do need my privacy,” he muttered then furrowed his eyebrows. “Hang on. If Gothi didn’t tell you guys, how did you two know that I was really Loki?” he asked. In all the confusion, he’d nearly forgotten the fact that Hiccup and Zenna had already known his real identity before he had even told them.

Zenna rubbed the back of her neck. “You probably haven’t been aware of this, but you’ve been giving us hints with regards to your identity ever since we first met, and recently we just started putting the pieces together,” she began.

“For starters, you clearly don’t like Thor.” Hiccup remembered the one time he used the God of Thunder’s name while talking to Erland when they first met. “And then you kept mentioning how you often felt like you were always playing second fiddle to your older brother. A lot of the legends we tell around here on Berk involve you and Thor at each other’s throats,” he continued.

“Then there’s your proclivity for mischief. Ruffnut and Tuffnut often say that you’re well-versed in the pranking arts. Only someone who is the embodiment of mischief itself can pull off something as elaborate as psychologically torturing Mildew,” Zenna chimed in.

“But we didn’t start seriously considering the possibility that you were an actual being of power until the dragons.” Hiccup smiled when Toothless and Stryka trotted over to the three of them. “Once you told us that you could talk to them and understand them, we started thinking that you weren’t exactly who you said you were,” he said.

“Let’s not forget what happened in the arena during Hiccup’s final exam.” Zenna’s one violet eye gleamed. “I’ve heard that a _seidr_ can use powerful magic. What you did back in the arena was definitely the type of magic a _seidr_ can do. But it felt… different. Hiccup and I may have been in shock at the time, but we felt it. We felt your magic… and it was raw, primeval, power. Something that only gods themselves can do,” she said.

“At first, Zen and I thought that maybe you were a servant of Loki or something. But, while we were waiting for you to get here after you said that you were going to tell us the truth…” Hiccup glanced at his sister in all but blood. “We went over all of the clues and thought about it really hard… And then, suddenly, as hard and crazy it was to believe, we just figured it out,” he finished.

Loki shook his head and chuckled. “I always knew you two were clever, but I certainly didn’t see this coming,” he remarked.

“There’s just one thing Zen and I don’t get.” Hiccup folded his arms across his chest. “Why would the God of Mischief want to live down here on Midgard?” he asked.

Loki sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I suggest that we sit down and get comfortable. It’s a long story…” he began, the dragons gathering around them.

Once Hiccup, Zenna, and Gothi were sitting on the ground with Toothless, Stryka, and Embla, Loki also sat down and took a deep breath. And then, he told them the truth.

He told them of how he had sabotaged Thor’s coronation and how he had unwittingly discovered that he was a Frost Giant when Thor had led him and Lady Sif and the Warriors Three into Jotunheim afterward. He explained how he had discovered the truth of his heritage, how angry he had been, and how he had tried to kill Thor before killing Laufey, his birth father. Finally, he spoke of his attempt to destroy Jotunheim using the Bifrost as a means to erase any existing links to his past and his fall at Thor’s hands… and that he decided to commit suicide by falling off the Bifrost despite Thor’s willingness to help.

When he finished telling his story, Loki leaned against Embla, taking a shaky breath. It had been painful to relive all of those memories, but it also brought relief and made him feel like a weight on his chest had disappeared. For someone who was best known for his talents as a lie smith, Loki felt good with telling Hiccup and Zenna the truth.

Looking at Hiccup and Zenna, and the way their faces contorted as emotions chased through them, Loki braced himself for the rejection. He felt Gothi squeeze his hand and he gratefully squeezed back as he waited.

Zenna was the first to break the silence. “Okay. I’ll admit that trying to eliminate your entire race is a pretty messed-up thing to do… But I understand why you did it… sort of,” she said haltingly.

“Yeah. I mean, if I had found out that my whole life was a lie, that I was just being kept for some other purpose, I’d be angry too,” Hiccup said in agreement. “If I had your powers… Maybe I wouldn’t have eliminated an entire realm but I would have definitely caused some damage,” he added, chuckling nervously.

Loki could hardly believe his ears. “Y-you mean… You both don’t hate me?” he asked.

“We’ll admit that we’re shocked and a little horrified by what you’ve done. But we understand that you weren’t in the right state of mind when you were doing those things. We don’t condemn you for your actions.” Hiccup smiled gently. “And you’re our best friend. We could never hate you,” he told Loki.

“What you did in the past, Loki, that was the old you. The new you, the one Hiccup and I see before us in this very moment, is someone kind, caring, supportive, and willing to risk it all to protect his friends. So don’t think that Hiccup and I are going to stop being your friends just because of what you did in the past.” Zenna grinned as she held out her hand, palm facing down. “We’re the Three Weirdos and we’re weirdos for life!” she declared.

“Weirdos for life!” Hiccup placed his hand on top of Zenna’s, and the two of them looked at Loki expectantly.

Loki felt tears pricking at the corners of his eyes as he gave the duo the widest smile ever and placed his hand on top of theirs. “Weirdos for life,” he said, his voice trembling.

Seeing their mischievous friend tear up, Hiccup and Zenna shuffled over to give him a big hug.

“Thank you…” Loki whispered, melting into their embrace.

Zenna laughed softly. “We’ve been friends with the God of Mischief this whole time. And we’ve trained dragons.” She glanced at Hiccup. “It’s official, Hicc. We’re the weirdest pair of Vikings in existence,” she declared.

“The Twins can’t even begin to think of measuring up to our level of crazy,” Hiccup laughed.

“I don’t think the Ruffnut and Tuffnut can even count past five.” Loki rubbed his eyes. “My poor disciples. They’re in dire need of an education, which I’ll be glad to give,” he said.

“Provided that you keep your real identity a secret,” Gothi piped up, tottering over to him and giving him a good whack on the head with her staff. “ _That’s_ for making these two young ones do all of your chores for a month.”

“You found out?” Loki whined, clutching his sore head.

“Boy, I’m the elder of this island. I know everything that goes on here,” Gothi replied, tapping her helmet with a shrewd smile.

“Fine. I won’t pass off my duties to others next time.” Loki rolled his eyes before smiling. “But don’t be so smug. I’m going to do my very best to annoy the hell out of you while I’m stuck here,” he announced.

“Looking forward to it. This old lady needs some entertainment every now and then,” Gothi chuckled, turning around to leave.

Once he had escorted Gothi out of the cove, Loki jumped onto Embla’s back and wrapped his arms around her neck.

**_“How do you feel now that you’ve told the truth?”_** Embla asked, using one of her head tendrils to pet Loki’s hair.

**_‘Free. I feel so much freer than I’ve ever been in my entire life,’_** Loki replied before turning to Hiccup and Zenna, who were already adjusting the saddles on Toothless and Stryka’s backs.

“Come on, you lot! The skies await us!” Loki whooped, spurring Embla upwards.

Toothless and Stryka roared with delight and lifted up into the air, Hiccup and Zenna laughing with pure glee. The six of them soared through the clouds, enjoying the wind blowing in their hair and the thrill of flight.

Looking at Hiccup and Zenna, Loki couldn’t help but feel like his heart was brimming with joy, pure unadulterated happiness that he hadn’t felt in a long time.

Sure, he was still stuck in the body of a mortal and didn’t have all of his magical abilities… but he was _home._

_“I didn’t plan on making new friends today,”_ Loki sang out, surprising Hiccup and Zenna as well as their dragons. _“But I’m glad that you came along when you did.”_

Catching on, Hiccup and Zenna began riffing, their voices carrying beautifully over the wind.

**_Hiccup:_ ** _We are a couple of misfits but we fit._

**_Zenna:_ ** _Together and the outlook’s looking sunny from here._

Toothless, Stryka, and Embla warbled in harmony as they wheeled through the air as their Riders sang.

**_Hiccup, Zenna, and Loki:_ ** _I will stick up for you._

_And you look out for me._

_We're a team, but I do most of the speaking._

They flew over the forest, birds and Terrible Terrors flying alongside them and filling the air with their chirps and whistles.

**_Hiccup:_ ** _We get in trouble with our best friends and our foes._

**_Zenna:_ ** _But it’s always simple and it works out, it does._

Loki had Embla fly closer to Stryka so he could ruffle Zenna’s hair. _“Short of attention.”_ He winked at Hiccup. _“Did I mention, all the sass?”_ he sang, his two best friends rolling their eyes fondly at him. Then he threw his arms up in the air and belted out, _“But I wouldn’t have it any other way I guess!”_

As they passed over the village, the Three Weirdos let their voices be heard by everyone. Stoick, Edgar, and Henna, in particular, looked up and smiled as they heard them.

**_Hiccup, Zenna, and Loki:_ ** _I will stick up for you._

_And you look out for me._

_We’re a team, but I do most of the speaking._

_You will watch out for me._

_No doubt, I believe._

_It’s a dream, but there’s always room for tweaking._

Flying out to sea, Hiccup, Zenna, and Loki had their dragons split up as they approached the sea stack maze.

**_Hiccup, Zenna, and Loki:_ ** _Neither of us knows…_

_Where this thing could go…_

Following each other’s singing, they reunited at the end of the maze.

**_Hiccup, Zenna, and Loki:_ ** _But it’s never stopped us once._

_So let’s not let it stop us now._

**_Hiccup:_ ** _So let’s not let it stop us now!_

**_Zenna:_ ** _So let’s not let it stop us now!_

Toothless, Stryka, and Embla carried them further up into the clouds until they were high above them, free as free can be.

**_Hiccup:_ ** _I will stick up for you!_

**_Zenna:_ ** _And you look out for me!_

**_Loki:_ ** _We’re a team, but I do most of the speaking._

With their dragons singing along in their special dragon way, Hiccup, Zenna, and Erland went for the big finish.

**_Hiccup, Zenna, and Loki:_ ** _You will watch out for me!_

_No doubt, I believe!_

_It’s a dream, but there’s always room for tweaking!_

Upon finishing the song, Loki leaned back and took in the view. The sun was setting, turning the sky into a watercolor painting of pinks, blues, purples, and oranges, and reds. Embla was purring contentedly as she carried him on her back. On either side of him, Hiccup and Zenna were also drinking in the beauty of their surroundings with Toothless and Stryka.

_‘As long as I’m with them, being a mortal won’t be so bad after all,’_ thought Loki, already looking forward to whatever adventures and fun pranks that would come their way.

Most of Berk knew him as Erland the Brave, the strange _seidr_ ward of Gothi.

To Hiccup and Zenna, he was their best friend no matter what his name was.

To himself, he was both Erland _and_ Loki. The Serpent Tongue. The Dragon Whisperer.

A Dragon Rider and a Weirdo. And that was fine by him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this is the last chapter. But that doesn't mean Loki's adventures as Erland are over. There's more to come ;)
> 
> Thanks for all the kudos. Feel free to leave comments and thank you to all who took the time to read my story. Soar high, dragon riders!
> 
> -GuardianDragon98

**Author's Note:**

> Originally published in FF.net in September 2018 and completed in October 2019. I made a few edits in terms of grammar and spelling. Apart from that, everything is the same as the original work. Enjoy!


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